Snowmobile Victim Identified

The snowmobiler killed Saturday on South Baldy Mountain has been identified as Phillip Earl, 49, of Newport.

He lost control of his snowmobile on a turn in slushy snow and crashed into a tree, said Barbara Seto , a family friend.

“He loved snowmobiling,” Seto said. “He did it every chance he could get.”

Earl was one of 75 people who gathered on the mountain to honor Troy Douglas, a snowmobiler from Priest River, Idaho, who died in an avalanche last month.

Another man, Timothy Simpkins, 42, of Priest River was injured Saturday. Simpkins was riding behind Earl and hit the same tree with his snowmobile, Seto said.

Simpkins was treated and released from Deaconess Medical Center, authorities said. , DataTimes