A Becker man is dead after crashing his snowmobile south of Santiago early Tuesday morning.

 

Sheriff Joel Brott said 46-year-old Van Brook Zoller died just after 12:30 a.m. The sheriff says Zoller was traveling south along 165th Ave. when he hit a snowbank at the intersection of 47th Street SE and was thrown from the machine.

 

Investigators believe the snowmobile then landed on him in the ditch. Zoller was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

Zoller was married (Kara) and they have three children (Brook, Brinley, and Shelby) and have lived in Becker since 1994.

 

Tuesday’s incident was the latest in a series of snowmobile fatalities on Minnesota roads this year so far, with more than a half-dozen having been confirmed since January.

 

This included a couple who died near Henderson last week, as well as a woman who died nine days after a crash near Nisswa late last month.

 

There have been 57 deaths on Minnesota roads as of Mar. 12, compared to 45 at the same date last year.