Snowmobile crash kills man near Steamboat Springs
Steamboat Pilot & Today
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — A 24-year-old Oak Creek man was killed Saturday after the snowmobile he was riding veered off Routt County Road 16 near Stagecoach Reservoir.
Routt County Undersheriff Dough Scherar said the Sheriff’s Office was notified of the crash around 3 p.m. Saturday. He said two Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were the first to arrive at the scene, and they initiated CPR but it was unsuccessful.
The man, identified as Hayden Savage, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The male involved was riding his snowmobile down the county road and went off on his right side into a stand of aspen trees,” Scherar said. “It sounds like he started to go off and tried to correct it back onto the road and ended up going completely off the road. The snowmobile and the operator both hit the trees, and he was not wearing a helmet.”
Scherar said Savage was the only person on the snowmobile at the time of the crash.
Savage was well known in the community for his involvement with Routt County Riders, where he has worked the past several years building mountain biking trails in the area.
“Too sad for words,” said a post on Routt County Riders’ Facebook page. “Your energy, positivity and commitment to building the best trails possible will be missed every day. Thank you for your four years of hard work with us. Ride in peace Hayden.”
Aryeh Copa, who was Savage’s boss and good friend, remembered him as someone who made good decisions and always kept safety top of mind when clearing trees for mountain biking trails, which can be a dangerous job.
“He was my top sawyer [one who uses a chain saw or saw to clear trees], and he was really valuable to me as a sawyer,” Copa said. “A lot of the trails that we have built the past couple of years he has done the majority of tree clearance.”
Copa said Savage loved downhill mountain biking, backcountry skiing, fly- fishing and the outdoors.
“He was really gung-ho about the backcountry and about learning and had the right attitude for being safe in the backcountry,” Copa said. “He was a good friend and someone that I looked forward to doing a lot more skiing and biking with.”
To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
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