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1 dies in snowmobile accident
Published 11:10am Wednesday, December 26, 2012A Fargo man died Tuesday afternoon in a snowmobile accident near Pelican Rapids.
Jerome Kotalik was driving a snowmobile at about 2:45 p.m. at a residence on County Highway 9 when he lost control and fell off the 1995 Ski-Doo, striking his head on the snowmobile trailer that was parked at the residence.
Kotalik was not wearing a helmet and suffered a traumatic head injury.
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office reported the man was taking the snowmobile out for a short warm-up and likely intended to put on a helmet before going out for a longer ride with others. Helmets were sitting out at the scene.
After Kotalik fell off the snowmobile, it continued to travel across County Highway 9 and struck a tree. The Ski-Doo was a total loss.
The accident reportedly occurred due to unexpected acceleration that may have been due to mechanical failure of the throttle.
