A Central Massachusetts woman was killed in a snowmobile crash in New Hampshire over the weekend — the latest in a slew of serious snowmobile crashes in that area of the state, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department announced Saturday.
The Friday crash killed 39-year-old North Brookfield resident Shawnee Hollis, the department said in a press release. Inexperience with snowmobiles was “a leading factor” in the crash.
At the time, Hollis and three friends were each riding their own snowmobile on a trail in Milan near the border of Berlin, the department said. Hollis failed to navigate a downhill left turn and hit a tree 13 feet off the right side of the trail.
Authorities responded to the crash around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and a conservation officer and two Berlin officers had to hike from the end of Spruceville Road in Milan to reach the crash site, the department said. First responders tried to have Hollis flown to a hospital, but were unable to secure transport.
They ended up taking Hollis back to the road in a UTV, after which she was brought by ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, the department said. She was eventually transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon where she died at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday.
In late January, 56-year-old Littleton resident Stacey McGarry died after crashing a rented snowmobile in Berlin. Inexperience was also a factor in this crash, which killed a soon-to-be bride.
A little over a week ago, 41-year-old Methuen resident Eloara Machado was so severely injured in a snowmobile crash in Milan that she had to be airlifted to a hospital. This was her first time riding a snowmobile, officials said, and inexperience was the primary cause of the crash.
Notably, McGarry and Machado both rented snowmobiles from Northeast Snowmobile and ATV Rentals in Gorham. It is unclear whether Hollis was riding a rented snowmobile.
Other Massachusetts residents have been seriously injured in snowmobile crashes in other parts of New Hampshire in recent weeks. Additionally, earlier this month, a Pittsfield man was killed in a snowmobile crash in New York.