One dead in snowmobile crash near Lily Lake

An early morning snowmobile ride turned deadly Thursday for a 31-year-old St. Charles man.

Michael Kurbyun was asphyxiated and his chest was crushed when the snowmobile he was riding overturned on a Lily Lake bike path, trapping him underneath, authorities said.

Kane County Forest Preserve District police responded to the accident about 1 a.m. on the Great Western Trail, between Route 47 and Hanson Road.

Police Chief Emad Eassa said Kurbyun and another male snowmobile rider were traveling on a "very steep incline" along the densely wooded and snow-covered path when they each lost control of their vehicles and slid down the hill. The men had been riding on the trail when it was closed to the public, he said

Kurbyun's companion was thrown from his snowmobile, Eassa said, but was not seriously injured. It took six officers to pull the snowmobile off of Kurbyun, who was pronounced dead an hour later at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, authorities said.

"It's such a shame. This is our second one in several days," Eassa said, referring to an unrelated fatal snowmobile accident Sunday afternoon on the same trail.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is leading the investigation, Eassa said, but a representative familiar with the incident could not immediately be reached.

An autopsy Thursday determined Kurbyun probably died from positional asphyxia, compression of the chest and entrapment. Toxicology tests are pending.

"We feel that there was some alcohol involved because we could smell it, but as far as anything concrete, the (toxicology report) won't be back for two to three weeks, " said Kane County Coroner Chuck West.

Eassa asked that the public practice extreme caution when riding snowmobiles this time of year. Operators must be licensed through the IDNR, he added.

"We certainly would not like to deal with any more accidents of this nature," Eassa said.