WELLINGTON — The co-owner of North Coast Wireless Communica*tions was killed Sunday night at a sur*prise birthday party while trying out his new snowmobile on grass and losing control after hitting a pipe in the ground.
Jeff Garn, 42, was remembered Monday by people who knew him as a savvy businessman and a wonder*ful person.
His business part*ner, Matt Fridenstine, said Garn became one of his best friends after they set up busi*ness in 2004. “He would hands down do anything for anybody,” Fridenstine said.
Fridenstine said he was planning to drop in at the party late because he was getting a bedroom ready for his baby due Nov. 1. It was a horrible shock to find out that Garn had been killed after being ejected from the machine while rid*ing in backyards off Meadow Lane, he said.
Anything that could go wrong did during the brief ride, Fridenstine said.
“It was like the perfect storm,” he said.
Wellington Police Chief Steve Rollins said the snowmobile hit a drainage pipe buried in the yard of one of the neighbors when Garn was riding through the yards shortly after 7:30 p.m.
“He hit the culvert, went airborne and was accelerating after he came down and was heading towards trees,” Rollins said. “He had to drasti*cally turn and we feel at that point he was ejected.”
Garn flew 10 feet 7 inches and struck a tree, Rollins said. His snow*mobile traveled another 58 feet, flip*ping several times.
Garn died of severe head, neck and chest injuries, said Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus.
“I was told he was going at a high rate of speed,” Matus said. He said tests will be done to determine whether alcohol or drugs played any part in the death.
An ambulance rushed to the home along with a rescue squad from the Wellington Fire Department and a Life Flight helicopter, but rescuers were unable to save Garn, said Wellington Fire Chief Robert Walker.
“Between the time EMTs and the doctor worked on him it was probably close to an hour — they started CPR right away,” Walker said. “They did everything that could be done.”
Rollins, who himself has owned a snowmobile, said it is possible, but more difficult, to ride when there isn’t snow on the ground.
“They’re harder to steer,” Rollins said.
He said the snowmobile, a 2011 Yamaha, was brand new and had only one mile on it.
“He was probably itching to try it out,” Rollins said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Snowmobiles should not be driven on grass, said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association.
“It’s not advisable,” Klim said. “Wait to ride it in the snow. It’s a very sad story.”
Fridenstine said Garn purchased the snowmobile recently and was eager to try it out. Garn had ridden snowmobiles in the 1990s and had recently gotten back into the hobby.
Garn’s mother Vickie had died of cancer in recent years, and he found snowmobiling was a good way to spend time with his father, Fridenstine said.
Norton Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Survivors include his wife Teresa, daughters Jacqueline, 18, and Nicole, 15, his father Raymond, brothers Randy and Scott and grandparents Arthur and Jill Dumke and Marcella Garn.
Friends gathered at the Garn home on Monday, where his family is “devastated” by the accident, one visitor said.
Garn was “the type of guy you wanted to call your friend,” said Theresa Brown of Bread and Brew.
Herb de la Porte, vice president of LifeCare Ambulance, said his company depends heavily on the wireless service provided by Garn and Fridenstine.
“That’s why we chose them — because it was so dependable, almost foolproof,” de la Porte said.
Fridenstine said North Coast Wireless serves about 2,000 Internet and telephone customers.
He said Garn hooked up about 1,000 of those customers single-handedly.
“When you’re self-employed, you’re working all the time,” Fridenstine said. “We complemented each other’s skills set — he was very easy; a people person — and he could just run with it and make things happen and I provided the technical skills to bring it all together and make it work.”
The company operates in six counties and has 20 towers, he said. Besides the co-owners, five employees work for North Coast Wireless in downtown Wellington.
Jeff Garn, 42, was remembered Monday by people who knew him as a savvy businessman and a wonder*ful person.
His business part*ner, Matt Fridenstine, said Garn became one of his best friends after they set up busi*ness in 2004. “He would hands down do anything for anybody,” Fridenstine said.
Fridenstine said he was planning to drop in at the party late because he was getting a bedroom ready for his baby due Nov. 1. It was a horrible shock to find out that Garn had been killed after being ejected from the machine while rid*ing in backyards off Meadow Lane, he said.
Anything that could go wrong did during the brief ride, Fridenstine said.
“It was like the perfect storm,” he said.
Wellington Police Chief Steve Rollins said the snowmobile hit a drainage pipe buried in the yard of one of the neighbors when Garn was riding through the yards shortly after 7:30 p.m.
“He hit the culvert, went airborne and was accelerating after he came down and was heading towards trees,” Rollins said. “He had to drasti*cally turn and we feel at that point he was ejected.”
Garn flew 10 feet 7 inches and struck a tree, Rollins said. His snow*mobile traveled another 58 feet, flip*ping several times.
Garn died of severe head, neck and chest injuries, said Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus.
“I was told he was going at a high rate of speed,” Matus said. He said tests will be done to determine whether alcohol or drugs played any part in the death.
An ambulance rushed to the home along with a rescue squad from the Wellington Fire Department and a Life Flight helicopter, but rescuers were unable to save Garn, said Wellington Fire Chief Robert Walker.
“Between the time EMTs and the doctor worked on him it was probably close to an hour — they started CPR right away,” Walker said. “They did everything that could be done.”
Rollins, who himself has owned a snowmobile, said it is possible, but more difficult, to ride when there isn’t snow on the ground.
“They’re harder to steer,” Rollins said.
He said the snowmobile, a 2011 Yamaha, was brand new and had only one mile on it.
“He was probably itching to try it out,” Rollins said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Snowmobiles should not be driven on grass, said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association.
“It’s not advisable,” Klim said. “Wait to ride it in the snow. It’s a very sad story.”
Fridenstine said Garn purchased the snowmobile recently and was eager to try it out. Garn had ridden snowmobiles in the 1990s and had recently gotten back into the hobby.
Garn’s mother Vickie had died of cancer in recent years, and he found snowmobiling was a good way to spend time with his father, Fridenstine said.
Norton Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Survivors include his wife Teresa, daughters Jacqueline, 18, and Nicole, 15, his father Raymond, brothers Randy and Scott and grandparents Arthur and Jill Dumke and Marcella Garn.
Friends gathered at the Garn home on Monday, where his family is “devastated” by the accident, one visitor said.
Garn was “the type of guy you wanted to call your friend,” said Theresa Brown of Bread and Brew.
Herb de la Porte, vice president of LifeCare Ambulance, said his company depends heavily on the wireless service provided by Garn and Fridenstine.
“That’s why we chose them — because it was so dependable, almost foolproof,” de la Porte said.
Fridenstine said North Coast Wireless serves about 2,000 Internet and telephone customers.
He said Garn hooked up about 1,000 of those customers single-handedly.
“When you’re self-employed, you’re working all the time,” Fridenstine said. “We complemented each other’s skills set — he was very easy; a people person — and he could just run with it and make things happen and I provided the technical skills to bring it all together and make it work.”
The company operates in six counties and has 20 towers, he said. Besides the co-owners, five employees work for North Coast Wireless in downtown Wellington.
