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The Fernie RCMP responded to a report of a fatal snowmobile collision in the Burton Lake Road area off of Highway 3, near Elko, on Monday afternoon, Dec. 27.
RCMP, B.C. Ambulance Service and Fernie Search and Rescue attended the scene of the accident, where they found a 44-year-old Elko man deceased after suffering a head injury.
The Elko accident was the second fatal snowmobile crash in B.C. in as many days.
The snowmobiler was amongst a group of three sledders who were using a known trail at the end of Burton Lake Road. The man was ahead of the other two and out of view, when he collided with a wooden jump structure which is used during the summer months by off-road cyclists.
The man was wearing a helmet at the time, however the impact severe enough to breach the integrity of the helmet, RCMP said in a press release.
A day earlier, another 44-year-old man, from Prince George, died after a head-on collision with another snowmobile on an island in a northern B.C. lake.
The Fernie RCMP and BC Coroner's Service are continuing their investigation into the man's death.
