Woman injured in snowmobile accident

The Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance and Lincoln Fire Rescue responded to a snowmobile accident about a mile east of the Ponderosa Snow Warriors clubhouse on Sucker Creek Road Saturday evening.

A middle-aged woman riding a snowmobile missed a corner on the trail, went over an embankment and hit a tree about 15 yards down the hill. Aaron Birkholz with the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance said she had been wearing a helmet, but nevertheless sustained potentially life-threatening injuries. Snowmobilers who had stopped to help were able to get her back up to the road before EMS arrived to stabilize her.

Since the Lincoln Ambulance doesn't currently have an operational snowmobile, Birkholz and Assistant Fire Chief Derek Perez, on foot, used a Sked rescue stretcher to pull the woman to the clubhouse parking lot, where the ambulance was staged. Birkholz explained they couldn't tow her out behind a snowmobile because modern snowmobiles, which use snow as part of their cooling system, tend to throw snow directly to the rear, where the patient would be.

The severity of the woman's injuries prompted responders to request a life flight out of Missoula, but an incoming front delayed its arrival. Based on a report they couldn't make it over Huckleberry Pass due to the weather and were waiting near a gravel pit east of Ovando, the Lincoln ambulance headed out to link up with them. However, the helicopter was able to make it over the hill and met the ambulance at the Lincoln Airport.

The woman, who was reportedly visiting Lincoln with her husband, was transported to St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula for treatment.