Alcohol blamed in triple fatality

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You say you've been driving snow machines since you were 12 and you know the lakes and rivers like the back of your hand. A few beers isn't going to make a difference to whether or not you get home safe. Why is it then that every year a few people who could probably say the same thing lose their lives when they leave a party, get on their machine and head off into the night?

Cpl. John Stevenson in the RCMP detachment in Prince Albert, Sask. tells how just such a snowmobile tragedy occurred at Brochet, Man., just across the Saskatchewan border on Nov. 15. According to the police report, Brochet consists of the community of Brochet and Barrenlands First Nation, which are situated on Reindeer Lake, approximately 100 km northwest of Lynn Lake, Man.

A Saskatchewan man and a man and woman from Manitoba were at a party until 4 a.m. All three left on one snowmobile, presumably heading to a cabin or house. They drove across the northeast corner of Reindeer Lake, travelling on one of the little estuaries going into the lake rather than on the main lake. It was partially frozen over. They drove in by the mouth of the river, where there was "a big open area," Stevenson relates.

The Lynn Lake RCMP detachment, which was closest to the scene, provided Stevenson with details.

"They say here that alcohol is believed to be a major factor," Stevenson said.

"The three were traveling on one single snowmobile when they entered an area of open water," the report states. "Two of the victims were able to climb onto the ice and walk a short distance before succumbing to exposure. The third victim was located several hours later, still in the water."

Dead are Robert Ninine, 26 from Southend, Sask., northeast of La Ronge; Barry Merasty, 24 and Rena Merasty, 20 from Brochet, Man. Stevenson had no information about their familial connection.

"I guess the townspeople never raised the alarm until about four in the afternoon," Cpl. Stevenson said. They followed the snowmobile tracks going across the ice and they saw these tracks leading into this big open area of the water. And then they found the people on shore and recovered the body from out in the water.

"So, it's pretty traumatic. Tragic. I don't know how you get three people on a snowmobile, but somehow they did," Stevenson said.

Any survival equipment the three young people may have had on board the snowmobile sank in18 feet of water with the machine, so the two who made it to shore never had a chance.

The snowmobile has not been recovered, said Stevenson, because the ice won't support equipment out there yet to retrieve it. In fact, the searchers for the missing trio risked their own lives by being on the ice. The weather hasn't been cold enough to make it solid.

The snowmobile "had just been serviced, just before the crash," said Stevenson, "and everything was working good. The brakes were working good and it had been readied for the winter season. So there was no problems with the snowmobile itself.

"I know in Saskatchewan here, the major causes of our crashes are alcohol, speed and inattention," Stevenson added.

Last winter, he toured the northern Saskatchewan communities of Buffalo Narrows, Beauval, La Ronge, Sandy Bay, Pelican Narrows and Pine House Lake to deliver a presentation on the causes of snowmobile collisions to all age groups, including 1,400 children.

Stevenson says Transport Canada contacted him to get the details of the fatal accident. Last June the government formed the Transport Canada Snowmobile Safety Advisory Committee, which Stevenson has joined.

"It's aim is to study and make recommendations on all issues related to snowmobile safety," Stevenson said. "And there's representatives from Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations, the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, Transport Canada, the Ontario Snowmobile Safety Committee, the OPP, University of New Brunswick, the Newfoundland Constabulary and two or three from British Columbia," Stevenson cocluded.