NEW FAIRFIELD — A Danbury man was critically injured when his snowmobile hit an ice ridge on Candlewood Lake on Friday, the most serious of three accidents on the lake over the weekend.
Timothy Langer, 38, and two other riders who were not identified, were headed north in the vicinity of Vaughn’s Neck when Langer’s machine hit a pressure ridge and went airborne, according to Cynthia Chanaca of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Pressure ridges are formed when two plates of ice butt up against each other, forming a mound on the surface, she said.
Langer was taken to Danbury Hospital, where he was reported to be in “critical but stable condition” on Sunday.
Rising temperatures over the weekend have left some areas of the lake unsafe for recreational activities, and Environmental Conservation Police are advising people to use extreme caution when venturing onto the ice.
One Saturday, another snowmobile and an all-terrain vehicle fell through the ice in separate incidents, Chanaca said. No injuries were reported in either accident.
With warmer weather expected to continue for a few more days, “There is continued need for caution,” Chanaca said.