Another snowmobile fatality, third in month in North Country

GORHAM — A Massachusetts woman was killed when her snowmobile crashed into trees on a remote trail near Pine Mountain on Saturday. Fish and Game said Krista Bebezas, 48, a psychologist from Westford, Massachusetts, was on the Bear Springs Trail when she crashed around noon. The site was approximately 5 miles from Randolph Fire Department and emergency responders used snowmobiles and a tracked rescue vehicle to get to the scene.

Upon arrival, responders found CPR was being performed on Bebezas by her riding companion. Responders joined in the effort, but Bebezas succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at approximately 1 p.m. She was ultimately transported from the scene to the Randolph Fire Station. Fish and Game said an on-scene investigation by conservation officers indicate operator inexperience played a significant role in the crash but said the investigation is still on-going.

On Facebook, Bebezas’ family described her as “a devoted mother of two beautiful girls, a loving daughter, an amazing sister and a dear friend to so many.”

Bebezas is the third person killed snowmobiling in the Androscoggin Valley over the last month. Inexperience is believed to be a factor in all three accidents. Two of the drivers were on rental snowmobiles.

Shawnee Hollis, 39, of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, was killed Feb. 16, when the snowmobile she was operating on Primary Trail 109 in Milan hit a tree off the right side of the trail. Stacey McGarry, 56, of Littleton, Massachusetts, was killed when she lost control of her rental snowmobile on Corridor 12 in Berlin on Jan. 23.

Combined with a series of non-fatal crashes on rentals this winter, the number of fatalities have resulted in North Country Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney (R-Wakefield) calling for legislation that will require renter education for inexperienced snowmobile drivers.

Fish and Game responded to two other emergency situations in Coos County over the weekend — a snowmobile crash in Pittsburg and a hiker who suffered a medical emergency in the town of Carroll.

• Two sisters were racing on Back Lake in Pittsburg on Saturday morning when the snowmobile driven by Giovanna Oliver, 20, of Waterbury, Connecticut, hit an uneven section of ice and snow. Oliver was thrown off the snowmobile, which then rolled over several times. Oliver was transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook for evaluation of her injuries.
• Fish and Game received a call for a hiker experiencing a medical emergency on the Cherry Mountain Trail. Michael Staley, 57, of Coventry, Rhode Island, was experiencing significant pain. Responders hiked two-thirds of a mile to reach Staley, who was taken by Twin Mountain Ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital, where it was quickly determined that Staley was indeed suffering from a medical emergency. He was flown to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon for emergency surgery.