Autopsy Shows Skier Died Of Blunt Impact Injuries

BAYFIELD, Wis. (AP) -- Sheriff's officials say the cross-country skier found dead by a snowmobiler in Bayfield County last month died shortly after he was struck by a vehicle.

Twenty-three-year-old Bjorn Erik Norgaard of Dundas, Minn., was killed Feb. 20 while skiing on a trail from Washburn to Ashland. The Bayfield County Sheriff's Department says a preliminary autopsy report indicates Norgaard died of traumatic head injuries within minutes of being hit. Several hours after his body was found, a 16-year-old rural Washburn boy went to police and identified himself as the driver who struck the skier.

The Daily Press says sheriff's investigators are waiting for toxicology tests on the teen before sending the case to the district attorney.

Norgaard was a 2010 graduate of Northland College in Ashland.

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