Baileyville man killed when snowmobile hits tree in Leaf River

LEAF RIVER – A rural Baileyville man was killed Thursday when his snowmobile hit a tree near a trail off West Pond Road, the state Conservation Police said.

It was snowing and blowing and visibility was low when Brian Elwood Haijenga, 50, who was riding behind a friend, struck the tree near the trail and suffered major injuries, Sgt. Phil Wire said this afternoon.

Haijenga, a longtime snowmobiler, was taken to Freeport Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Wire said.

Alcohol was involved but it is not known if it was a factor in the crash; toxicology tests are being conducted, Wire said.

Haijenga was a Forreston High School graduate, pipe fitter and a welding administrator at the Byron Nuclear Generating Station. Burke-Tubbs Funeral Home in Freeport is handling arrangements.