Snowmobile accident results in serious injury

DIORITE — A Minnesota man was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident in Diorite Wednesday afternoon.

Troopers from the Negaunee Post of the Michigan State Police say Kent Holtz, 46, of Becker, MN, was traveling on Trail 8 near County Road 496 at around 1:00 p.m. when he lost control of his sled and drove off the trail, crashing into a tree. Holtz told police he lost control while driving through snow dust thrown up by a snowmobile he was following.

Hotlz was transported to UP Health System Bell for treatment of serious injuries sustained in the crash. Because the trail on which the incident occurred runs close to railroad tracks operated by Canadian National Railroad, emergency responders had to notify the railroad to slow a train scheduled to travel through the crash site.