Van Buren man thrown off snowmobile
27-year-old then struck by his brother's snowmobile
2/9/2014VAN BUREN, Ohio — A Van Buren man was injured Sunday evening when he was thrown from his snowmobile and struck by a second snowmobile operated by his brother in Hancock County's Portage Township, sheriff deputies said.
Investigators said Derol George, 27, was riding his machine in a field west of County Road 140 near Township Road 107 when his snowmobile went airborne.
When it landed, Mr. George was thrown off and run over by a snowmobile operated by his brother Derek George, 33, of Alvada, Ohio.
Deputies said Derol George was flown to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo for treatment of unspecified injuries; a spokesman said the hospital did not have a patient by that name.
A third snowmobile operator in the group, Christopher Bowman, 40, of Findlay, was determined to be driving under the influence of alcohol and was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired. Deputies said they had no information on whether the two brothers had been drinking before the accident, which was reported at 7:24 p.m.