Snowmobile crash leaves Faribault lawmaker with fractured back, broken pelvis
A state senator suffered broken ribs, a broken pelvis and a back fracture in a snowmobile crash late last week.
Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault) said Monday he is "expected to make a full recovery" following Friday's crash near Motley, Minnesota. The Faribault lawmaker was on the snowmobile trail off 330th Street around 12:45 p.m., the Morrison County Sheriff's Office said, when he approached a 90-degree left turn in the trail, in Scandia Valley Township about 6 miles south of Motley.
As he did so, he lost control of the snowmobile and was thrown off. Fellow Sen. Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks), who had been following on his own snowmobile, then hit Jasinski's unoccupied vehicle.
The sheriff's office originally said Johnson rear-ended Jasinski's snowmobile, and that the impact caused Jasinski to be thrown from it But around 1:15 p.m. Monday, it put out an amended news release to say Jasinski lost control and was thrown.
An ambulance took Jasinski to Staples hospital, but he was then airlifted to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, he said. The crash left him with three broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and fractured L5 vertebrae (part of the lumbar region of the lower spine), the senator said.
But with this year's Legislative Session still in its earliest days, the Assistant Majority Leader Jasinski does not plan on taking time off.
"While the physical recovery may be long, I’m ready to participate with remote access for hearings and floor sessions and fully engage in this session," he said in his statement Monday. "I also will be in regular communication with Senate staff and my Legislative Assistant to continue to provide the best constituent services to my district.
"I want my constituents to know they can continue to reach out for assistance, and I will do whatever I can to help.”
Johnson, according to the sheriff's office, was not injured. Bring Me The News has reached out to Johnson for comment.
Jasinski said he was participating in the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association's Winter Rendezvous at the time of the crash.
