![North Dakota Man Dies After Falling Off Snowmobile in Minnesota](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2010/12/snowmobile.jpg?w=980&q=75)
North Dakota Man Dies After Falling Off Snowmobile in Minnesota
PELICAN RAPIDS (AP) - A North Dakota man has died in a snowmobile accident near Pelican Rapids.
Forty-year-old Jerome Kotalik of Fargo, N.D., was driving a snowmobile Tuesday afternoon when he lost control and fell off, striking his head on a parked snowmobile trailer.
Kotalik was not wearing a helmet.
The Otter Tail County sheriff's office says the man was taking the snowmobile out for a short warm-up and likely intended to put on a helmet before going out for a longer ride with others. Helmets were sitting out at the scene.
Authorities say the snowmobile may have unexpectedly accelerated because of a mechanical failure of the throttle.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)
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