A New Jersey police officer died after a snowmobile accident in New York over the weekend.
Steven Fernandez, a 39-year-old an officer with the Ridgefield Park Police Department, was seriously injured Saturday, his family said.
The New York State Police said the incident occurred around 2:07 p.m. on a trail near Harrietstown, in Franklin County near New York’s borders with Vermont and Canada. Police said the snowmobile drove off the trail, down a steep embankment and struck multiple trees. He was airlifted to the ICU at the University of Vermont Medical Center where he died.
Early Sunday morning, his mother Susan Kruger Fernandez wrote on Facebook, “My heart is broken.”
No other information was given.
“Steve was a great cop and an even better person,” the Ridgefield Police Department said in a statement. “His strong ties to our small community where he grew up are unmatched.
“He was an unbelievable person, a great friend, a perfect worker and a kind soul who we will miss every single day. Steve would want us to celebrate his life and not mourn his death. We ask you to do the same.”