Minocqua man dead following snowmobile crash

MINOCQUA - A 41-year-old man is dead following a snowmobile crash on Patrica Lake Sunday morning. 

Eric D. Ross, of Minocqua, was driving a snowmobile on an unmarked trail along the edge of Patrica Lake when it hit a downed tree just before 9 a.m. Sunday, according to the Minocqua Police Department. The force of the crash ejected Ross from the snowmobile. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. 

During the 2017-2018 snowmobile season, there were 14 fatal crashes in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website. The first fatal snowmobile crash listed in the 2017-2018 season was on Jan. 5 in the Iron County town of Mercer, according to the website.