This story originally appeared in the Union Leader on 2/5/7 and was written by By BENJAMIN KEPPLE
Two people died and a total of four people were injured in snowmobiling accidents this weekend, according to officers with the state Fish and Game Department.
"The ponds are frozen now. You have your first good snowfall and unfortunately, some people aren't using caution," Fish and Game Conservation Officer Michael Matson told The Associated Press. "Everybody's out there because they have been waiting so long for the snow to come."
Authorities said Kevin Barbieri, 37, of 10 Centerville Drive in Salem, died on Saturday night after the snowmobile he was driving struck a small island of rocks on Arlington Pond, throwing the victim and his snowmobile over the island.
"He had all kinds of safety equipment on, but it was quite an impact," said Lt. Kevin Jordan, of the state Fish & Game Department.
The accident happened about 7 p.m. as Barbieri and a friend, who was operating a second snowmobile, were crossing a cove near Island Road. When rescuers arrived, they found Barbieri's friend - who was not involved in the accident - trying to help Barbieri, who was unconscious. Barbieri was rushed to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, Mass., but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Jordan said alcohol and speed didn't appear to have been contributing factors to the accident, and also said Barbieri was apparently an experienced snowmobiler. However, Jordan did say it appeared Barbieri may have been overdriving his snowmobile's headlights, and didn't have enough time to react and avoid the rocks.
A short while earlier, three people - including an 8-year-old boy - were hurt when two snowmobiles collided on Big Island Pond near the Derry-Atkinson town line.
According to Jordan, Michael Derienzo, 39, of Sandown, was traveling on his snowmobile when he collided with a snowmobile driven by Anthony Kalil, 20, of Atkinson. The 8-year-old was a passenger on Kalil's machine. Both snowmobiles were traveling across the lake in the same general direction, and Jordan said both machines were traveling about 50 mph when Derienzo's machine sideswiped Kalil's at a 45-degree angle.
All three were seriously hurt, and were taken to Parkland Medical Center. The boy was airlifted to Boston Children's Hospital, although Jordan said his injuries didn't appear life-threatening. According to Jordan, speed and inattention were the likely causes of the crash.
Also, on Friday night, a Derry man was hurt when the snowmobile he was driving on Sunset Lake in Hampstead ran into the shore. Keith Vigeant, 32, suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries in the crash about 9:30 p.m. He was transported to Parkland Medical Center.
Jordan said the investigation into that accident was continuing, but said speed and alcohol were likely factors.
On Saturday afternoon, Belmont resident Russell D. Davis Sr., 52, was pronounced dead at Lakes Regional General Hospital in Laconia after a snowmobiling accident behind 112 Plummer Hill Road. Davis was thrown from the vehicle after the machine's right side struck a tree, authorities said.
"It's been one after another," Matson said.
Snowmobilers also died in Maine and Vermont.
In Baldwin, Maine, Arthur Auger, 24, of Salem, Mass., died Friday evening when his machine slammed into the embankment of Woods Mill Pond.
On Saturday, Mark Delgrosso, 49, of Niantic, Conn., was killed when the snowmobile he was riding left a trail, went into a ditch and hit a rock in Brighton, a snowmobiling hub in northeastern Vermont.
In Washington, Vt., a Massachusetts man broke his pelvis and four vertebrae when his snowmobile collided with another on Saturday. Charles Peet, 27, of Belchertown, Mass., was participating in a fundraising ride. The other rider was unhurt, police said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
