It happened just after 9 pm Saturday night in Garfield Township, west of Lake Station Avenue.

Sheriff's Deputies say there was a report of the driver hitting a tree before being thrown from the sled. The snowmobile then caught on fire. Investigators say the Dearborn Heights man, James Daniel Barkey, was unconscious and unresponsive when rescuers arrived. He was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead. 

Deputies say speed and alcohol appear to be factors in the crash.