South Beloit man dies while snowmobiling in Rockton

A 54 year-old South Beloit man has died while snowmobiling Thursday night near Fischer Rd. and Prairie Rd. in Rockton Township, IL, near Investigators believe Marvin Thibodeau was riding his snowmobile westbound on Fischer Road on Jan. 18, 2024 around 9 p.m. "at a high rate of speed." Thibodeau crossed Prairie Road on the edge of Rockton Bog Nature Preserve, went into a ditch, then hit a utility box and a tree.

Other snowmobile drivers found Thibodeau, they called 911. When Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, Rockton Fire Department, and an emergency physician from MD-1 arrived, Thibodeau was not breathing. The Winnebago County Coroner’s Office says, "Despite all efforts, Mr. Thibodeau could not be revived and he was pronounced deceased on scene."

After an autopsy on Friday, the coroner's office announced that "Mr. Thibodeau died as a result of blunt trauma of the head due to the crash." The crash is being investigated by the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department and the Illinois Conservation Police.

According to his Facebook profile, Thibodeau was from Faribault, MN and lived in South Beloit, IL. He was single He rode snowmobiles, raced motorcycles, and caught salmon. In 2020, he grew Carolina reaper peppers, which can be two million times hotter than a bell pepper. But after tasting fresh salsa made from it, he quipped that it was "not hot as one would think."

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