Watch CBS News

Sheriff: Snowmobiler Hits Father, Son On Chisago Lake

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An 8-year-old boy and his father are in the hospital after a snowmobile crash on a Minnesota lake.

It happened just before 8 p.m. Friday night on Chisago Lake.

The family says Alan Geisenkoetter Jr. was critically injured along with his father, Alan Sr.

Alan Geisenkoetter Jr.
(credit: CBS)

Deputies say the father was assembling the family's portable ice house when he was hit.

It's a beautiful January Saturday out on the lake.

Less than 24 hours earlier, it was the scene of a horrific accident.

"We started seeing the squad cars come right in front of our house here onto the lake," Marty Long said.

A witness took a video of the scene of responders on a pitch black night, where a 43-year-old father, who was assembling a portable ice house, was injured by snowmobiler along with his young son, Alan Jr.

A day later, Long is taking his grandsons out to their ice house.

"We knew it was something bad when we saw the helicopter," he said.

The helicopter was called to airlift the boy, who family say is only 8 years old.

Snowmobiler Hits Fish House
(credit: Jeff Reinsberg)

On the boy's Caring Bridge site, the family says the mother tried to yell for Alan Jr. to get out of the way but it was too late.

He was hit and then dragged by the snowmobile, according to the family.

The snowmobile then hit the ice house that the father was working on.

"Snowmobiles can go 80 miles per hour now. And that's fine. It's Minnesota, great outdoors. Everybody is doing it, having fun at this time of year. Look it, it's a beautiful day," Long said. "You don't drive those things that close to fish houses."

A family member told WCCO the boy, in critical condition, has head trauma and two broken legs that will require surgery.

His father was also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver admitted to authorities that they had been drinking before the accident but once they got on shore refused to provide a breath sample. So authorities obtained a search warrant and informed the driver they were under arrest. They were taken to the hospital for injuries. No charges have been filed yet.

The Chisago County Sheriff's Office is waiting to release the name of the snowmobile driver until formal charges have been filed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.