At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call regarding a snowmobile accident with injuries near the address of 40746 125th Ave. in Brockway Township, about 4 miles northwest of St. Stephen. Stearns County Deputies, St. Stephen Rescue, and Mayo Ambulance Service all responded to the call.
When deputies arrived, they found the female operator of a snowmobile, Kaye Heins, 66 of Sartell, being transported to the roadway. The crash occurred several hundred yards east of the roadway on a designated snowmobile trail. Deputies spoke with parties that were with Heins and found that the crash occurred when the snowmobile she was operating struck a large wooden gate post. Witnesses indicated Heins had been operating an older, vintage snowmobile and, prior to the crash, switched snowmobiles with another member of the group. Heins crashed the newer model, a 2020 Polaris Indy XC.
Heins was transported to the St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of her injuries. Heins’s group was part of a larger group of snowmobiles that were participating in a vintage snowmobile run that started in the City of St Stephen.