Man stranded in freezing cold after snowmobile crash

Pamela Steel

February 3, 2010

PORT SYDNEY — A 39-year-old Port Sydney man crashed into a tree while driving his snowmobile sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning. He spent an unknown amount of time in below -30C temperatures before a passing snowmobile driver discovered him around 9:30 a.m.

The identity of the man has not yet been released.

Ken Carruthers of Toronto was driving along OFSC trail D103B when he came upon the victim. He put the man on his sled and took him to Port Sydney Beach where members of Pioneer Camp were on hand volunteering for the winter carnival. They immediately called 911 for emergency assistance.

Brandon MacLean, outdoor education director at Pioneer Camp, was summoned to the scene by his staff.

“When (the victim) arrived we took control of the first aid treatment of him,” said MacLean. “He was conscious but appeared to be hypothermic — without gloves so his hands were extremely cold. We placed him in the back seat to get him warm (and) put our warm coats on him. He met the telltale signs of hypothermia: incoherent, slurred speech, not a lot of gross motor skills. We’re not sure how long he had been out. His hands weren’t the healthy pink hue you would normally see — whiter and more glossy than normal.”

Paramedics arrived shortly after the call and the injured man was taken to Huntsville Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. He was then airlifted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

The current condition of the man has not been released.

Huntsville OPP along with Central Region traffic reconstructionists are continuing the investigation.