Laconia snowmobiler injured in Warren crash

WARREN — Mason Smith, 18, of Laconia, was injured seriously in a snowmobile accident last Thursday, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

The crash occurred Feb. 8 near the Three Ponds area of Warren, Ellsworth and Rumney, the press release stated. Smith was riding snowmobiles with his father when the accident occurred.

Smith was identified as the operator of the snowmobile by Fish and Game Department Conservation Officer Heidi Murphy.

The investigation into the accident concluded Smith struck a tree after failing to make the turn on a curve in the trail.

“The operator was thrown from the snowmobile and the snowmobile impacted another tree,” according to the press release.

Smith's father transported him by snowmobile to the Three Ponds trailhead in Ellsworth before continuing by car, the release stated.

Smith's father then called emergency dispatchers and informed them he was transporting his injured son from a snowmobile trail to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth around 6 p.m. Dispatchers lost the cell phone signal while the caller was traveling to the hospital.

A conservation officer from NH Fish and Game went to the hospital after learning about the crash while Smith was being evaluated and undergoing initial treatment for his injuries, according to the press release.

“The youth suffered serious injuries and was subsequently transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon for additional medical treatment,” the press release noted.

Neither snowmobiler was able to describe the location of the crash to emergency responders but Fish and Game officers found the wrecked snowmobile and the scene of the crash on NH Snowmobile Trail 157 in Warren, about 5 miles away from the Three Ponds trailhead.

Excessive speed and inexperience operating a snowmobile are considered to be the contributing factors in the crash, the press release stated.

There have been 11 reported snowmobile crashes across New Hampshire this year, with several resulting in injury and at least one resulting in an arrest, according to Fish and Game reports.