A man who died in a snowmobile crash on a northern Minnesota lake was a teacher in the Ely School District, officials said Monday.
Christopher P. Yarger, 48, who lived in Ely and taught in town, crashed about 2:50 p.m. Sunday near the southern shoreline of Shagawa Lake, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said. Yarger died that evening in a Duluth hospital.
"Speed and alcohol appear to be contributing factors" in the crash, a statement from the Sheriff's Office read.
In an e-mail to parents of students, District Superintendent Kevin Abrahamson wrote, "Although Mr. Yarger was new to our schools this year, we know that he impacted our students."
Yarger was hired to teach German at the outset of the school year at both Ely Memorial High School and nearby Northeast Range High School in Babbitt.
After one semester, he was reassigned and taught remedial reading and math in Ely to students in kindergarten and grades 1 through 8.
"He made some connections with our younger students, particularly," Abrahamson said Tuesday.
