UINTA-WASATCH-CACHE NATIONAL FOREST, Utah, March 8, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have released the name of a man who died in a snowmobiling accident Wednesday in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, in a rural part of Utah that is south of Evanston, Wyoming.
Uinta County Fire and Ambulance posted on Facebook that fire and EMS crews responded, as did AirMed, to the area of Road Hollow, just off Whitney Road at approximately 12:40 p.m.
The deceased has been identified as 38-year-old Lee Cornwell of New Port Richey, Florida, according to Summit County Sheriff’s Office officials.
Family friend Kathy Russell Willis posted on Facebook: “Church family and friends, please pray for Mandie Bumgarner Cornwell, and all other family members. Her husband, Lee Cornwell, was tragically killed in a snowmobiling accident yesterday.
“Lee was the epitome of what a husband, father and son should be. Such a heartbreaking tragedy for our family.”
Officials said Cornwell and two friends from North Carolina were snowmobiling in that area.
Cornwell went up a hill, not realizing it had a steep drop on the other side. He fell about 20 feet, and hit his chest on the snowmobile’s handlebars. Cornwell managed to radio his friends to say that he was suffering from abdominal pain, officials said.
His friends, as well as another snowmobiling group nearby were able to call for help and performed CPR on Cornwell until first responders arrived. However, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency crews from Summit County, Uinta County, Wyoming responded to the site, as well as the medical helicopter.
The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, officials said.
