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Bracebridge OPP are investigating a serious crash involving an 11-year-old boy operating a snowmobile on Kahshe Lake in Gravenhurst.
OPP say shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday, January 21, they were called to attend a snowmobile crash on an island on Kahshe Lake. Police, accompanied by Muskoka Paramedic Services and Gravenhurst Fire attended to find that an 11-year-old had apparently been doing “doughnuts” on the ice surface when he lost control of the 600 cc machine. The powerful snowmobile carried its operator up a steep embankment where it struck a tree. The rider and machine then tumbled back down the embankment to the ice surface.
The child was wearing helmet but, still sustained a broken arm and facial injuries. He was transported to hospital by ambulance before being flown to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. The OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators were called in to investigate.
The exposure of young people to the operation of motorized vehicles like snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles (ATV’s) is an important part of their development into safe and competent riders. Even when children are closely supervised, parents must be aware of the potential for disaster that arises when inexperience is combined with the power of these machines. Please take all possible precautions and be mindful of the extreme dangers when teaching your children to operate snowmobiles and ATV’s. Smaller, less powerful machines are available and help to minimize the dangers of learning to ride.
If you are between 12 and 15 years of age, or if you are 16 and older and do not have a valid Ontario driver’s licence, you must successfully pass a snowmobile driver-training course to get your operator’s licence.
