The Pitkin County District Attorney is considering charges against 53-year-old Virginia Chen of New York City for her roll in the ski collision death of 48-year-old Pennsylvanian Nancy Egleston. Chen had been descending Copper Bowl before merging onto Spar Gulch when she collided into Egleston who had stopped to clear her goggles on the intermediate trail at Aspen Mountain.
Photo of Nancy Egleston
Ninth Judicial District Attorney Sherry Caloia is expecting to reach a decision this week on whether or not to file charges under the Colorado Skier Safety Act, which reads in part, “Each skier has the duty to maintain control of his speed and course at all times when skiing and to maintain a proper lookout so as to be able to avoid other skiers and objects. However, the primary duty shall be on the person skiing downhill to avoid collision with any person or objects below him.”
ski in control.It is the up hill skiers duty,period.There is a case here
period ??? are you SERIOUS ??? its people like you who yell right of way who cause collissions. The rule is horribly outdated. When you carver clear across the run, you need to make sure you look over your shoulder and not cut off someone coming past you. When you start or merge into another run, you look UP and yield !!! The rule should also add “NEVER assume you have the right of way” and then there will be a lot less collissions. I film cars on the freeway with my contour GPS, it records my speed and when someone slows down right in front of me after passing me, I have clear evidence that they are driving like a dumbass, yet i am sure they think I am speeding up, tailgating them for passing me. If everyone is right, who is wrong?
The SRC says twhat you say, but immediately after it says to look up and yield when merging or starting or just having COMMON FUCKING SENSE
agreed that the downhill person may actually cause the accident. But if someone is screaming down blue hills because they can and they run over someone who is on that hill because they are learning / beginner type, then the fault is on the better skier / rider in my opinion. Don’t be a jagoff and point em and shoot on hills filled with intermediates / beginners / tiny kids. They are going to make hard left and right turns out of nowhere. Really, a video and knowledge of what skill level the parties had is the only way to determine who is at fault. Whatever the rules are, you know a reckless asshole when you see one. what a terrible tragedy.
as a ski instructor, i could not agree MORE about that !!! thats what i love about squaw, they got that huge beginner area at high camp.
hate those mfers who pass on the freeway and then slow down, wtf!
as for this lady from new york, how can we really find her at criminal fault for an accident? maybe if she was drunk, but I find it hard to imagine a 53yr old female gaper bombing the hill recklessly for kicks… more likely she somehow lost control and crashed into this unfortuante woman cleaning her goggles.
there are no ‘accidents’
doesnt matter if downhill skier was ‘wrong’
uphill skier is at fault. period.
you either know the code or you dont.
expect people to be stopped where they ‘shouldnt be’
expect people to ‘make unexpected or “stupid” turns’
no excuses
So the moral of the story is that if you are involved in an ACCIDENT where you hit someone and they look to be seriously hurt flee the scene immediately.
I don’t agree with this one bit.
the morale of the story is treat the hill like the road. you would stop your car in the middle of the street to do whatever you pull over. not rocket appliances here boys just COMMON FUCKIN SENSE agree with loomis
Rocket appliances?
Just the other day I was riding alongside a skier (im a snowboarder) who was ahead of me. I went to pass on the far left of a 300 ft wide trail literally within 3 ft of the trees when he saw an opening in the trees to take. He didnt look behind and abruptly turned into me at the worst possible second. We were both goin about 40 when we collided. Fortunately nobody was hurt we both apologized and went on our way. Fact is I was the uphill skier but it was a mutual fault that we collided. Cause: blind turn into the trees Effect: collision with someone about to pass. I couldnt have avoided it but he definitely could have. Am I blaming him Hell no! Its an obvious inherited risk we all take.
there are no ‘accidents’
doesnt matter if downhill skier was ‘wrong’
uphill skier is at fault. period. downhill skier doesnt have to look behind to determine they can turn. should we just put rearview mirrors on our helmets too?
you either know the code or you dont.
expect people to be stopped where they ‘shouldnt be’
expect people to ‘make unexpected or “stupid” turns’
no excuses
I don’t know the details, but there is also this rule:
“Do not stop where you obstruct the trail or are not visible from above.”
You’re both correct. It’s hard to know what actually happened by simply reading the details.
If this goes to court, whatever the outcome, it will change the industry.
this wont change the industry a bit. fatalities of all types occur yearly at ski areas and fatal collisions are semi frequent. everyone just needs to slow down at the ski area. unless you’re on a closed course or in the backcountry, you need to ski as if you’re in a “residential” area. would you haul ass down the road in your neighborhood with kids playing and hope you could avoid them when they pop out in front of you?
if home girls goggles were fogged, the other chick prob was all fogged too
Criminal charges? I could understand a civil suit but filing criminal charges is insane and a waste of taxpayers money.
Ya totally fine if you just randomly kill people. Why waste money on enforcement of basic laws???
dude are you kidding me?? i doubt ms. chen was going down that run like “oh i’m gonna drill the sh*t out of this lady and kill her!” i’m not exactly 100% on all the “laws” of this situation, but one person’s life is already gone, and filing criminal charges on another person’s life is just going to ruin one more person’s life without actually solving anything. you don’t think this woman feels bad enough already?? ms. chen is probably never going to ski again because she’s so traumatized by that accident (notice the word accident). had chen been drinking or been intoxicated i could maybe understand this, but this certainly seems like a waste of taxpayers money
Way to tell them Carl! Time to go to Moe’s
a civil suit seems to be more for damage or minor injuries. someone died.. thats why they are pushing criminal charges
Out of control skiers/riders are more dangerous than any terrain you will encounter in a resort. My buddy (skier) is getting surgery on his thumb and elbow this Friday because an out of control snowboarder hit him at around 40 mph. The out of control snowboarder was coming from above him and took him out, said “sorry” and rode off. Obviously new to riding. You guys all bring up good points. Without video evidence it would be hard for someone who skis/ rides to decide if this person was truly negligent. Let alone a judge or jury who has never been on a mountain. Gotta be a GoPro vid of this somewhere. JonnyF is right on with his statement. I have been skiing with my two sons who are 8 and 10 since they were 3 and 5. Out of control assholes make me pucker every time out.
What a wonderful experience driving would be if we all decided to dart from lane to lane on the freeway without once signaling or looking over our shoulder. Rules or not, people suing ski areas should be shot……
I believe the charges would be criminal and against the person who hit the victim (not the ski area). RIP
Your not pulling a line from license to thrill are you dave?
wrong.
there are no ‘accidents’
doesnt matter if downhill skier was ‘wrong’
uphill skier is at fault. period.
you either know the code or you dont.
expect people to be stopped where they ‘shouldnt be’
expect people to ‘make unexpected or “stupid” turns’
no excuses
As a Colorado skier, and part time instructor at another mountain in Colorado I’d like to add my $0.02. This is a tragedy, but an avoidable one. I agree with several of you that there might be dual fault here. However – like on the road – if you rear-end someone, you are at fault. Now – if that person stopped in the middle of the road right around a blind corner, they are obviously share some fault as well. The law in Colorado is pretty clear (and I do have to agree with it, I’ve had people I teach hit by oncoming skiers and snowboarders because they’re either reckless, out of control, or both). The resorts are not the defendants in these cases, it is the negligent skiers/riders. This is a terrible tragedy and very avoidable. My heart goes out to both sides.
have you ever gone “out of control” on purpose mr instructor? How can being out of control while skiing considered neglignet?
idiot.
The fact that the person is out of control at all makes it negligent. Negligence does not happen on purpose. It is a lack of ability – someone being in a situation they shouldn’t be in.
Of course we’ve all been negligent at some point. And I think a lot of people here take offense to this because that’s partially what makes our sport so fun. We like being a little over the edge, and that’s how we improve. But if we’re going to make that decision, we need to accept the consequences. If we hurt ourselves its one thing, but if we hurt or kill others, it is our responsibility.
I’m no fan of a law-crazy, sue-happy nation. But this sounds a lot like a regular old vehicular manslaughter case to me, which is indeed a case.
I believe you just defined what being negligent is…Being out of control doing anything that puts others at risk is negligent, and if you hurt someone in the process you should be held to some level of liability.
Q: How can you tell if someone is a ski instructor?
A: Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
thats hilarious, and TRUE, i just realized nobody asked me, and i said it
“for her roll”
Forget it. He’s role-ing.
The ski industry is treating skier/snowboarder collisions just as a vehicle collision. It is now written in the laws. Collisions are 100% avoidable and the person at fault should be charged accordingly, especially when there is property damage and/or any injury.
100% avoidable? Erica have you ever heard of an accident, or the old saying they are bound to happen. This is an activity that literally occurs on a slippery slope. With people of all abilities careening around on skis with sharp steel edges. Throw in some foggy goggles, some ice, some ruts, some bumps, some fluff, a kid who head fakes left and goes right, whatever… accidents are gonna happen honey. Dont make me come over there and spank you.
Accidents do happen, and if you are exacerbating all of those factors you just mentioned by also being reckless then you should be held accountable.
i love this ‘accident’ stuff
running into someone is not an accident. its irresponsible and therefore deliberate. get a dictionary.
expect anything in front of you… such as the downhill skier doing something ‘wrong’… thats what it means to ski responsibly.
Call me at WESUE4U for all your ski accidents. We will get you new boards, season passes, and free lodging…
Think if skiing was invented yesterday, who would insure it? “We’ll have 20000 retards an hour sitting on a bench 120′ off the ground with no safety belt going uphill at 7mph. 20% will be drinking by 10am. Said multitude will then slide down a 30% grade 200′ wide at speeds of up to 65mph. The faster you go the more glamorous it will be in the marketing and we’ll build 65′ jumps anyone can go off. We’ll teach anyone under 8 how to do this for free if their parents think its cool. After you turn 80 you get free tickets if you still think it’s a good idea.
^^^Best post ever^^^
Notice how nobody is reporting on EXACTLY the details of the crash….that is because it was an accident…but lawyers stand to make a gob of money, they all sit in the same hottubs jacking each other off and when they see an accident like this they run to the DA and whisper in his ear.
This is ambulance chasing bullshit.
Someone is pushing the DA to turn this into a criminal case so lawyer(s) can make a ass-load of money on fees and pump up the likelihood of a civil wrongful death suit.
running into someone is not an accident. its irresponsible and therefore deliberate.
expect anything in front of you… such as the downhill skier doing something ‘wrong’… thats what it means to ski responsibly.
if you hit someone who is downhill of you on the slopes then you are at fault. there is no gray area here. if they stopped around a blind corner they are breaking the rules but why mach around a blind corner when you know there are beginners/inter on the blues? ski hard on the expert runs and pull it in a bit on the blues. people on the blues wipe out in the middle of the trail all the time. anyone who skis knows this.
What to set precedent you twat DA. Its a not so fun slippery slope until the day we will be required to carry insurance and keep your lawyer on speed dial.
screw all the warnings on the back of my pass…lets just have it say “If i get hurt or die skiing i/my family wont sue.” with a little X where to sign. I know this is the DA with the charges here, but where does it stop? Sliding down a mountain on 1 or 2 pieces of wood is dangerous….get over it.
The lady who was killed stopped in the middle of the run… idiot. It’s sad she died, but it should serve as fair warning for others; if you have to stop on a run, go to the side. I can’t count the # of times some dumbass has stopped dead center in the middle of a run and I’ve had to avoid them. Or they sit in the center of the run right over the lip where you don’t see them until you’re literally on top of them. I’m sure everyone reading this has experienced this too. Regardless of how good you are, with people sitting in the middle of a run; odds are you will hit one of them at some point. Odds are when you do, you didn’t do it on purpose; but you did it because that person was being a jackass.
When I’m on a blue or a black, I’m on those to go fast. I’m not one for big jumps, but I like speed. When I’m moving fast pointing and going, it’s hard to stop on a dime. You’re sliding on snow for Christ sake. I took out a chick last season who decided to stop in the middle of the run then decided to go without looking (it was a black run too). I did everything I could to avoid her, but she crossed my line and we still collided. It was her fault, she yelled at me for hitting me and I yelled back for her being a moron, stopping in the middle of the run then proceeding without looking at where she was going. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, I was… if my head would have hit hers, she could have died. Just a few weeks ago I saw a dude hit a jump and landed/ took out an idiot who was in the landing zone; if the jumper would have killed the guy down hill, I think it would have been the idiot down hills fault. If either person above would have died I would hope it would be chalked up to an unfortunate accidents instead of criminal homicide charges.
It seems to me a lot of people here are quick to point a finger and judge without thinking about “what if it was me” in their shoes.
this has to be one of the more idiotic and pathetic posts ive ever read.
people doing things ‘wrong’ is to be expected so you have to go at a speed that allows for that or you are at fault.
get it?
Now I need to buy more batteries and memory cards. Looks like in addition to being an expert skier I also need to be getting video of everything. I think the legal disclaimer on lift tickets needs to extend to all the skiers as well. Why should the resorts get away with accidents and we get prosecuted?
Guy at my work careens of a jump blindly, collides with a woman. They are both knocked out and end up in adjacent beds in a trauma center. She has a concussion & he has a big gash in his face.
Lawyers would have a field day suing the pants off him BUT the two injured people were both on the same ski trip. It was a church trip so they just prayed for each other.
The uphill skier is responsible… Saying people should look over their shoulder when carving is stupid… Beginners can only focus on themselves. Ask them to look up hill every time they turn and you’ll have much more of a mess than currently exists. Also, folks, please remember that beginners and new skiers/riders are helping foot the bill equally to folks with 20-30 years experience. Without them (a) the sport would die and (b) our lift tix would run 2x to 3x the current rates (they spend much more at the Mt./day than those of us in love with the sport). If you’re such a bad ass that you can’t handle being around newbies, take your bad ass back country 100% and you’ll never have worry about those dreaded “grappers” again.
finally someone who gets it. thank you for posting.
Filing charges or a civil suit will not prevent further deaths.
The resorts need to continue the work they already do in terms of proper signage and yanking passes when appropriate. Instructors need to keep emphasizing safe skiing and boarding in their lessons. Parents need properly supervise their children. Friends need to speak up when their buddies are riding like bone heads.
There will be further tragedies like this to be sure but it’s up to the skiing/riding community to make them more infrequent. And no amount of frivolous lawsuits or douche bag lawyers will help in that effort.
gapers and there bad goggles.
OBIT. RIP
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