Two injured in snowmobile accident

Two snowmobilers suffered what appeared to be non life-threatening injuries in a snowmobile accident Sunday morning on Forest Service Road 202 near Wolf Lodge Saddle.

Brittany A. Earling, 23, of Hayden, was the driver and Alicia M. Hendricks, 22, of Coeur d'Alene, was the passenger on a snowmobile which failed to negotiate a curve near the intersection of Forest Service Road 434 around 11:45 a.m., the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said.

The snowmobile went off the roadway and struck a large tree, and both riders were thrown from the snowmobile. Earling sustained injuries to her legs and struck the tree with her head. Hendricks also suffered injuries to her legs.

Earling was transported from the scene to Wolf Lodge Saddle, where she was airlifted to Kootenai Medical Center by MedStar. Hendricks was transported in a rescue sled from the scene to a waiting ambulance at Fourth of July Trailhead. Neither subject's injuries appear to be life threatening, the sheriff's department said.

Both riders were wearing helmets and were part of a larger group.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Recreation Safety Section and Kootenai County Search and Rescue responded, as did medical personnel from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department.