A man accused of drunkenly hitting a skier at Highlands and fleeing the scene without exchanging contact information was identified by the accuser through an Instagram search that led him to pictures and videos of the dude spraying Champagne at Cloud Nine, a reservations-only luxury party spot located on Aspen Highlands beneath the summit of the Cloud Nine high-speed quad.
The Aspen Times reports Dimitri Katamanin, from Chicago, is facing civil allegations for breaking the Colorado’s Ski Safety Act for allegedly skiing while intoxicated and striking a downhill skier at the bottom of Upper Jerome, an intermediate run near the base of Highlands. The lawsuit claims Katamanin was skiing fast and intoxicated, and as the uphill skier he bore responsibility under the Ski Safety Act. The victim suffered a broken humerus and other injuries.
“He yard-saled. The plaintiff could not get up. He was visibly injured and laid on the ground in pain. Defendant appeared drunk. Katamanin approached the victim but did not give his name or contact information. Defendant quickly put his skis back on and fled down the mountain before ski patrol arrived.”
The lawsuit notes that the skier fled with three males and two females, one of whom was an intoxicated doctor who declined to help the victim. Katamanin was identified through an Instagram video filmed approximately at 3 p.m. Feb. 13, roughly an hour before the crash. No telling if he was consuming any of the champagne he was spraying but you don’t have to be a lawyer to know its not a good look:
“You just don’t ski into someone, cause obvious injury, and then ski away. It’s common sense, common decency, and the law. It’s almost four months after the crash, and our client still hasn’t recovered. Fortunately, our client was able to identify Dimitri Dean Katamanin from photographs posted on social media. We look forward to getting our day in court and holding Mr. Katamanin accountable for his actions.” –Attorney Michael Fox
