Sedona AZ (November 28, 2016) – A 45-year-old Cave Creek, AZ man was killed on Friday, November 25, 2016 in an off road vehicle accident while hunting in Northern Arizona.

Christopher Fitzmaurice and a friend were on an elk hunt, south of the Grand Canyon and Tusayan. Fitzmaurice was driving his Polaris Ranger when the vehicle rolled over and landed on him. His friend was unable to lift the machine off Fitzmaurice and free him.

The Northern Arizona Regional 911 center received a call at about 6:39 a.m. Friday from the passenger of the crashed UTV, stating his friend and driver of the UTV was pinned under the vehicle and not breathing. Rangers from the National Park Service at Grand Canyon, Coconino County Sheriff’s deputies, Tusayan Fire Department and Guardian Medical responded. The accident location was on Forest Road 328 about six miles off State Route 64.

Medics arrived to the scene about 25 minutes after the call. They were able to lift the vehicle off the victim, but the victim had no pulse and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Investigator’s determined from the scene and information provided by the passenger that Fitzmaurice was traveling too fast on the road while headed into a series of turns. Fitzmaurice’s vehicle started to slide in the first turn and then started to slide as he entered the second turn. The front passenger’s tire struck a dirt berm of a water drainage alongside the roadway causing the vehicle to rollover to the driver’s side. Neither Fitzmaurice nor his passenger were wearing seatbelts and both were ejected in the rollover. Fitzmaurice suffered some head trauma.

Fitzmaurice was transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s office where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. His passenger received no injuries in the accident.

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