PARLIN POND TOWNSHIP, Maine — A Massachusetts snowmobiler died after she drifted off of a groomed trail, struck some trees and was ejected from her sled in Parlin Pond Township, authorities said Sunday afternoon.
Karen L. Pillman, 45, of Wilmington, Massachusetts, was leading a group of three snowmobilers across the Parlin Connector Trail on Parlin Pond south of Jackman about 5 p.m. when she crashed into several trees, Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service official said in a news release.
The Parlin Connector Trail leads to the east side of the pond and then enters the woods.
Shortly after Pillman left the pond on her 2010 Polaris 800 snowmobile, she drifted to the left side of the groomed trail and hit the trees. She was ejected from the snowmobile and came to rest in the trail, McDonald said.
Several people who came upon the crash tried to save her, followed by Jackman Regional Ambulance personnel. Pillman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Game wardens say speed is likely a contributing factor and that Pillman was wearing a helmet.
Her body is being examined in Augusta by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, MacDonald said.
Saturday’s crash — the ninth snowmobile-related fatality this year — remained under investigation on Sunday.
Several other less serious snowmobile crashes took place over the weekend due, in part, to deteriorating trail conditions, MacDonald said.
“The melting snowpack has created ice, exposed rocks, stumps and other hazards on the trails,” he said. “Brooks and streams have also washed out trails in some areas. Snowmobilers must remain alert and operate at speeds that will provide plenty of time to stop to avoid hazards,” he said.