A late-night snowmobile romp by a group of friends ended in tragedy in a pile up on a frozen upstate lake over the weekend, killing a 22-year-old Genesee County man, state police said.
Spencer Schmidt of Batavia was out riding with four friends each on their own snowmobiles shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday when the group slammed into another, abandoned snowmobile on Fourth Lake in Herkimer County, troopers said in a release.
Three of his buddies — Cole Phelps, Carl Stephens and Joshua Boyle, all 26 — were injured in the crash and treated at the scene, but Schmidt was pronounced dead on the lake, police said.
Only one member of the group, 26-year-old Zachary Dusky, avoided crashing.
According to state police, the abandoned snowmobile was registered to a 37-year-old man identified as Eric Butler, who was forced to abandon the craft after it became disabled earlier.
Police said none of the riders involved were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
“At this time, there is no indication of criminality, and the incident appears to be a tragic accident.”
The snowmobiles were taken to State Police in Carthage for further examination by the State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and Forensic Investigation Unit, syracuse.com reported.
No charges have been filed and an investigation is underway.
