JACKSON, Wyoming (AP) — Authorities have determined that the unusual snowmobile wreck in northwest Wyoming that killed a 33-year-old North Dakota man was an accident.
Andrew Grossnickle, of West Fargo, died Dec. 30 after becoming separated from his snow machine. A preliminary autopsy determined that Grossnickle died from blunt force trauma to the left chest.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports that investigators were perplexed initially because the snowmobile was not damaged.
Typically, fatal snowmobile accidents involve the machine crashing into a tree or rolling over the victim.
But Teton County Sheriff's Lt. Slade Ross says it appears that Grossnickle fell off the machine or contacted a tree while hanging off the snowmobile.
Grossnickle was among a group of eight friends but no one saw the accident.
