ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997               TAG: 9704020061
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-4  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: DENVER
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

UNSER PLEADS INNOCENT IN STRANGE CASE SAYS HE WAS LOST IN BLIZZARD

The former racing champion faces federal charges in a snowmobiling incident.

Former race car champion Bobby Unser on Tuesday pleaded innocent in federal court to the misdemeanor charge of driving a snowmobile in a wilderness area.

Accompanied with four attorneys, Unser appeared before Magistrate Judge Richard M. Borchers in Denver, who scheduled a trial for June 11. U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock will preside over the trial.

Unser, 63, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., is accused of violating the federal Wilderness Act of 1964, which bans the use of motor vehicles in designated wilderness areas.

The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner said he and a friend became lost in a blizzard Dec. 20 while driving their snowmobiles near the Colorado-New Mexico border.

The U.S. Forest Service claims Unser and his friend intentionally drove into the San Juan Wilderness in southern Colorado. Forest Service officials said they found the snowmobiles inside the federally designated wilderness area.

Unser said it was snowing heavily and he and his friend didn't realize where they were. He said they nearly died after getting lost and trudging through deep snows for two days.

Following his arraignment, Unser said he didn't do anything wrong.

``They're not going to prove anything,'' he said as he was leaving the federal courthouse. ``I always contended I was just trying to save my life.''

One of Unser's attorneys, Todd Welch, said Unser was simply struggling to survive.

``In an emergency, you have a right to a motorized vehicle [in the wilderness],'' he said.

LENGTH: Short :   45 lines
KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING.