A relative of three people who died when their snowmobiles plunged through ice on a Vermont lake says the wife of a victim told him her husband checked the thickness beforehand.
Paul Quesnel of Whiting says his 50-year-old brother-in-law, Kevin Flynn, was a veteran snowmobiler who was taking three grandchildren for a ride Saturday when the ice gave way.
Killed were Flynn; his 24-year-old daughter, Carrie Flynn; and 3-year-old Bryanna Popp, who was Flynn’s granddaughter and Carrie Flynn’s niece.
Kevin Flynn’s wife, Terry, survived to report that her husband had checked the ice thickness and noted other snowmobile tracks in the area.
Officials say a late winter has left many New England lakes and ponds with thin ice covered in snow. That creates an illusion of solidity that may be contributing to a rash of accidents.