Following a tragic snowmobile pileup, one person is dead. A group of friends decided to take their snowmobiles for a late-night ride over the weekend. But the night would end with one of them dead.
The friends suffered a pileup while on a frozen lake in New York upstate. A 22-year-old man died in the resulting wreck. Spencer Scmidt had been riding with his three friends — Cole Phelps, Carl Stephens and Joshua Boyle — on Sunday morning. The group was out in the early hours of the morning when they accidentally wrecked.
They crashed into an abandoned snowmobile on Fourth Lake. Three of the friends were injured in the resulting snowmobile crash. But Schmidt sadly died at the scene from his injuries.
Troopers said in a release that weather conditions played a role in the young man's death.
They wrote, "The New York State Police are investigating a fatal snowmobile accident that occurred early yesterday morning on Fourth Lake in the town of Webb."
Snowmobile Pileup
The police continued, "On February 9, 2025, at approximately 2:52 a.m., State Police from SP Remsen responded to 4920 State Route 28 for reports of a multi-snowmobile collision. Upon arrival, Troopers located Spencer W. Schmidt, 22, of Batavia, NY, who was pronounced deceased at the scene due to injuries sustained in the crash."
Police confirmed that there had been a fifth member of the friend group. But he was able to avoid the resulting crash. Police also identified the owner of the abandoned snowmobile as well.
They continued, "Investigators believe the crash involved a disabled, unoccupied snowmobile registered to Eric Butler, 37, which had been left on the lake. Evidence suggests that Schmidt, along with Phelps, Stephens, and Boyle, collided with one another and/or the stationary snowmobile."
Authorities do not believe that alcohol or drugs played a factor. Instead, this appears to be just a tragic accident.
They continued, "Due to the weather conditions and location, all involved parties were evaluated on scene and did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. At this time, there is no indication of criminality, and the incident appears to be a tragic accident."
