March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Massachusetts man dies in snowmobile accident

RANGELEY — A snowmobile accident claimed the life of a 24-year-old Massachusetts man in Rangeley Saturday.

Friends who went to search for Andrew Palmer early Sunday morning found his body wedged between some trees, according to V. Paul Reynolds, spokesman forthe Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Reynolds said Palmer of Sudbury, Mass., had been snowmobiling with two groups of friends Saturday evening during the Rangeley Snodeo, a large gathering of snowmobilers. He apparently got separated and neither group was sure which one he was with. It wasn’t until early Sunday that Palmer’s friends discovered he was missing and went out to search for him, Reynolds said.

In an attempt to reconstruct the accident scene, wardens believe Palmer had been traveling at a high speed on Rangeley Lake, a lake he was unfamiliar with. They believe he came upon the shoreline too fast, hit the brakes, skidded sideways and was thrown off the sled when it hit the shoreline, Reynolds said.

Palmer was wearing a helmet. Wardens were unsure if Palmer died of trauma, exposure or a combination of both, according to Reynolds. Palmer’s 1989 Polaris XLT 500 was demolished.

Reynolds said the accident was under investigation by Wardens Reggie Hammond and Sgt. Mike Pratt. Palmer was the fifth snowmobiler to die in Maine this season.


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