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* Sad News: Flip Merwin, 28, of Wausau, WI, was killed during a qualifying race Saturday night at the 40th running of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby when his sled, traveling more than 70 mph, suddenly darted sharply to the right and into a fencepost on the front straightaway, off the oval's fourth turn. Merwin became the second racer in less than a year to die as a result of an accident in the Eagle River Derby, the most prestigious event in the sport. Ed DeVault, of Cottage Grove, was involved in a two-sled wreck last January and suffered head injuries that led to his death in November. "We don't know why the (Merwin) accident happened, and we may never know," said Ted Otto, executive director of the United States Snowmobile Association. "Suspension parts are broken on the sled, but we don't know if they broke in the crash or before. And we have no one to tell us."(more at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)(1-20-2003)