R.I. woman injured in snowmobile crash on VAST trail
Feb. 26, 2023 | By Waterbury Roundabout This post was updated on Feb. 27 with details on the time and location and tour operator.
Multiple first responders from Stowe and the state were called to a snowmobile crash last weekend on a trail in the Waterbury section of Mt. Mansfield State Forest.
The call to the incident on Vermont Association of Snow Travelers Trail 100 involved a snowmobile on a guided tour on Saturday, Feb. 18, according to a news release from the Vermont Warden Service. The accident happened around 8:50 a.m. approximately 4 miles in from the Cotton Brook trailhead in Waterbury, according to Lt. Game Warden Carl J. Wedin.
This was the second crash this winter where an individual on a snowmobile tour was injured. Both incidents involved tours run by Snowmobile Vermont which has operations in multiple locations around the state including Stowe.
The investigation into this crash found that Alisha Habershaw, age 28, of Rhode Island, lost control of the snowmobile while navigating a curve and was ejected when the vehicle crashed into a ledge west of the trail, officials said.
Habershaw was transported out of the woods by personnel from Stowe Rescue and Stowe Mountain Rescue. They responded along with state wardens and Stowe police, officials said.
Habershaw was taken to Copley Hospital in Morristown for treatment of severe but non-life-threatening injuries, according to wardens. The release also noted that the snowmobile sustained heavy front-end damage and was removed from the trail by the guiding service.
The previous crash happened on Jan. 21 on a VAST trail near Cotton Brook and it involved a woman from New Jersey and a juvenile, according to authorities. The snowmobile hit a water bar and the driver lost control, hitting a tree. That driver was also taken to Copley Hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. The child was not transported.