Ken Block Dies in Snowmobile Accident UPDATED

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Professional rally driver Ken Block died in a snowmobile accident in Utah on Monday.

He was 55 years old.


Block was known for helping found DC Shoes, being a rally-car driver, cultivating the Hoonigan automotive-enthusiast lifestyle and merchandise brand, and starting up the series of Gymkhana stunt videos.

"It’s with our deepest regrets that we can confirm that Ken Block passed away in a snowmobile accident today," the Hoonigan brand said in a statement posted on its Instagram page. "Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed. Please respect the family’s privacy at this time while they grieve."

Block's hobbies in the winter included snowboarding and snowmobiling.

He is survived by his wife, Lucy, and three children. This is a developing story and we will follow up as we learn more, either via updates to this post or with follow-up stories.

RIP, Ken Block.


Further Updates from CNN: "The accident occurred at 2 p.m. when Block was riding a snowmobile down a steep slope in Wasatch County, Utah, according to the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office. The snowmobile upended and landed on top of Block, the Sheriff’s Office said, and he was later pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident.

'Mr. Block was riding with a group but was alone when the accident occurred,' a statement from the Sherriff’s Office said. 'The State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause of death. We are saddened to hear of the loss of Kenneth and our hearts are with his family and friends so deeply affected. We thank all of our first responders for their continued service.'"

[Image: Sarnia/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Jkross22 Jkross22 on Jan 03, 2023

    It's one thing to do these things as a young single dude, but when you're a dad, many of us have a switch in our brain that gets toggled. You choose just to not take the corner above 9/10ths or take risks that don't scratch out. No doubt his family wished he made a different choice.

  • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Jan 03, 2023

    Ken seemed like a good guy. Hopefully his family will somehow find peace after this.


  • Master Baiter I told my wife that rather than buying my 13YO son a car when he turns 16, we'd be better off just having him take Lyft everywhere he needs to go. She laughed off the idea, but between the cost of insurance and an extra vehicle, I'd wager that Lyft would be a cheaper option, and safer for the kid as well.
  • Master Baiter Toyota and Honda have sufficient brand equity and manufacturing expertise that they could switch to producing EVs if and when they determine it's necessary based on market realities. If you know how to build cars, then designing one around an EV drive train is trivial for a company the size of Toyota or Honda. By waiting it out, these companies can take advantage of supply chains being developed around batteries and electric motors, while avoiding short term losses like Ford is experiencing. Regarding hybrids, personally I don't do enough city driving to warrant the expense and complexity of a system essentially designed to recover braking energy.
  • Urlik You missed the point. The Feds haven’t changed child labor laws so it is still illegal under Federal law. No state has changed their law so that it goes against a Federal child labor hazardous order like working in a slaughter house either.
  • Plaincraig 1975 Mercury Cougar with the 460 four barrel. My dad bought it new and removed all the pollution control stuff and did a lot of upgrades to the engine (450hp). I got to use it from 1986 to 1991 when I got my Eclipse GSX. The payments and insurance for a 3000GT were going to be too much. No tickets no accidents so far in my many years and miles.My sister learned on a 76 LTD with the 350 two barrel then a Ford Escort but she has tickets (speeding but she has contacts so they get dismissed or fine and no points) and accidents (none her fault)
  • Namesakeone If I were the parent of a teenage daughter, I would want her in an H1 Hummer. It would be big enough to protect her in a crash, too big for her to afford the fuel (and thus keep her home), big enough to intimidate her in a parallel-parking situation (and thus keep her home), and the transmission tunnel would prevent backseat sex.If I were the parent of a teenage son, I would want him to have, for his first wheeled transportation...a ride-on lawnmower. For obvious reasons.
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