Snowmobile crash kills C. Falls man
Kalispell ambulance responds Thursday to a fatal snowmobile accident on private property near the intersection of Whitefish Stage and Birch Grove roads. Jeffrey Scott, 45, of Columbia Falls was killed. Craig Moore/Daily Inter Lake
The Daily Inter Lake
A Columbia Falls man died Thursday afternoon in a snowmobile accident near Kalispell.
Flathead County Deputy Coroner Ernie Freebury identified the man as Jeffrey Scott, 45.
Scott was driving at about 4 p.m. in a field near Birch Grove Road, according to Sgt. Dave Leib of the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.
The property belonged to a family member. When Scott did not return to the house, a family member found him lying on the frozen ground, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.
Sheriff's deputies, the West Valley Fire Department, Kalispell ambulance and the Highway Patrol responded to the scene, where evidence indicated that Scott had been traveling at high speed when he attempted to turn. The track of the snowmobile apparently caught on the dry ground, causing it to flip.
Scott's head apparently struck the frozen ground, killing him instantly, according to the press release.
Scott was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, which is under investigation by the Highway Patrol and Coroner's Office.