Mother, son die in snowmobile crash

A young mother and her three-year-old son died in a snowmobile accident in Hall Beach, February 3.

Gena Qanatsiaq, 18, and her son Moses died around 6 p.m. Saturday evening, shortly after her snowmobile struck the side of a fuel truck making a left-hand turn. After the collision, Qanatsiaq and her son fell beneath the vehicle, suffering further injuries, and both died a short time afterwards.

None of the passengers wore helmets — but because the two dead were crushed beneath the fuel truck, it’s unlikely they would have survived the crash, even with helmets, said the RCMP’s Cpl. Randy Slawson.

The truck driver did not realize he had been struck by the snowmobile until the two were already beneath the vehicle, Slawson said.

Another young child, about two and half years old, survived the accident.

Weather was clear, Qanatsiaq was not driving excessively fast, and alcohol was not believed to be involved in the accident, leaving the cause of the collision unknown, Slawson said.

“We really don’t know why it happened,” Slawson said.

The RCMP plans to send an accident analyst to the scene to investigate further, Slawson said.