Snowmobiling death in Eustis tops state record

EUSTIS – The weekend death of a Massachusetts man increased the number of snowmobile fatalities in Maine this winter to 13, the most in a single season.

Adelio Tema, 22, of Lynn, Mass., missed a turn and drove off a trail around 9 p.m. Sunday, according to the Maine Warden Service.

Tema fell off his machine and hit a tree, Lt. Tim Liscomb said.

Driver inexperience was the cause of the accident, but poor visibility also may have played a role, Liscomb said. Neither speed nor alcohol was a factor, he said.

The highest number of people killed in snowmobile accidents in a single season had been 12, a figure reached three times before.

Operator inexperience has been a common thread this season in many fatal and nonfatal accidents, according to Col. Tim Peabody of the Warden Service. New snowmobilers, in particular, need to familiarize themselves with their machines, the law and the area in which they’re riding, he said.

Peabody said trail safety checks and enforcement details aimed at snowmobilers operating under the influence and driving imprudently would continue.