Conneaut man reaches 80 mph while operating snowmobile

By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

January 12, 2009 11:14 pm

— SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — A Conneaut man was cited by Ashtabula County sheriff’s deputies early Sunday morning after a snowmobile incident in Saybrook Township, deputies said.
Bill Sanger, 23, 397 S. Amboy Road, drove his snowmobile — with a female passenger aboard — at speeds exceeding 80 mph on Route 45 before flipping over soon after turning onto Route 84, deputies said.
Sanger was cited for operating a motor vehicle under the influence, speeding and reckless operation, deputies said.
A deputy on patrol near the Flying J travel center on Route 45 observed the machine traveling north around 2:24 a.m., according to a report. The snowmobile was moving at 83 mph in a 45 mph zone, deputies said.
The deputy followed, and learned the snowmobile was closing in on an Ohio Department of Transportation plow ahead on Route 45. The plow driver later told deputies
An Ohio Department of Transportation plow driver traveling north on Route 45 told deputies the snowmobile came very close to the rear of her truck, back off and then advance again. When the plow passed the Route 84 intersection, the snowmobile attempted a turn, deputies said. The deputy then saw the machine on its side, the passenger sprawled in the snow and the driver trying to set the sled back on its skis.
The passenger, a 21-year-old woman, told deputies she was not injured, deputies said. Sixteen unopened cans of beer were found in bags attached to the snowmobile, deputies said.