A close relative has identified the father and young son who were hurt on a Chisago County lake when an allegedly drunken snowmobiler roared through an occupied icehouse and clipped the family’s pickup truck.
One of the two injured Friday night was an 8-year-old boy who was dragged across the ice by the snowmobile and critically hurt, according to the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on north end of Chisago Lake, about a mile south of Chisago City. The snowmobiler, who also was injured and hospitalized, admitted he had been drinking and was arrested, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A blood sample was taken at the hospital from the man, who refused to take a preliminary breath test, the Sheriff’s Office continued. Results indicating his degree of intoxication are pending. Authorities have yet to identify the man, and charges could come later this week.
The boy, Alan Geisenkoetter Jr., suffered “significant swelling” of his brain, a bruised lung and many broken bones, according to a CaringBridge page established by his aunt. He’s hospitalized in the Twin Cities.
His father, 43-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter, also was hit by the snowmobile while putting up the portable icehouse and is recovering in a metro area hospital from his injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The father was setting up the icehouse while his wife and young daughter were sitting in the truck’s cab, and Alan Jr. had just gotten out, the boy’s aunt, Alison Cromie, detailed on the fundraising page.
That’s when someone started a snowmobile, prompting a curious young Alan to climb in the back of the pickup to see the machine as it passed by, the aunt’s account read.
The boy’s mother, Ellie Geisenkoetter, noticed the snowmobile was “coming a little too close and yelled for Alan Jr. to come back to the front of the truck,” the aunt continued. “Before anyone knew what was happening, the snowmobile grazed the tailgate of the truck, hit Alan Jr. and then plowed right into the icehouse that Alan Sr. was setting up.
“Alan Jr. was dragged across the ice, and many people on the lake came to help while they waited for first responders.”
Kristian Lee Luger-Grass said on Facebook that he was fishing on the lake at the time, when “a guy driving 90 miles an hour in a snowmobile goes right through” the fish house.
“The road to recovery is going to be long and hard, and the family will need help covering expenses while out of work and throughout the long recovery process,” reads a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the family, which recently moved from nearby Wyoming to a home close to the lake.
