A lawsuit filed by an Aspen skier alleges that a snowboarder hit her from behind and fled the scene, leaving her with severe injuries. The snowboarder was later identified using his social media presence and distinctive gear after a good Samaritan took a photo of him.
A skier in Aspen, Colorado, has filed a lawsuit against a snowboarder who allegedly hit her from behind and fled the scene, leaving her with severe injuries. The incident occurred on February 24th at Aspen Mountain.
The victim, Anne Cassidy, a mother of four and an experienced skier, was chatting with a friend on her skis when a snowboarder careening down the mountain slammed into her from behind, according to the lawsuit. Cassidy felt twisting in her knees and sudden and extreme pain in her legs.
"Ms. Cassidy's knees crumbled like a lawn chair," the lawsuit states.
Witnesses said the snowboarder saw Cassidy writhing on the ground in pain but decided to flee. He regained his balance on his board and quickly rode away, leaving Cassidy injured and alone.
Cassidy's friend gave chase, screaming at the snowboarder to wait for ski patrol. The snowboarder admitted to her that he couldn't control his turns on the snowboard.
A good Samaritan skier also pursued the snowboarder, asking him why he didn't make sure Cassidy was okay. The snowboarder allegedly told him to mind his own business and threatened to hurt him if he kept following him.
The good Samaritan took a photo of the snowboarder on his phone to file a report with Aspen Mountain. That photo would prove to be a crucial tool for identifying the unknown rider.
Aspen Mountain staff reviewed lift footage in the time frame of the crash and found a rider wearing the same gear as the man in the good Samaritan's photo. The rider's RFID ticket identified him, and he is named as a defendant in Cassidy's lawsuit.
A private investigator was easily able to track down the snowboarder's social media accounts, in which he wore the same gear in stories taken in Aspen around the time of the accident.
Cassidy's lawsuit accuses the Queens man of negligence, saying he didn't live up to his responsibility to keep watch for downhill skiers and to share his information with Cassidy or Aspen Ski Patrol after the accident. He admitted he was snowboarding outside his ability when he said he "could not stop because he was on a board," according to the lawsuit.
The Aspen woman is suing for her medical expenses and "expects to amend her complaint to add punitive damages" for her suffering.
Ski accidents are common, but hit-and-run incidents are not. Typically, most skiers and snowboarders are hurt in single-person accidents from falling or hitting an obstruction.
However, attorneys say they are seeing a significant increase in hit-and-run accidents on the slopes, with many perpetrators fleeing the scene without leaving any information.
Cassidy's attorney, Michael Fox, highlights the importance of skier safety awareness, emphasizing that it's common sense and the law to not ski into someone, cause injury, and then ski away.
"This case is about skier safety awareness," Fox said. "Skier hit-and-runs are up across the state of Colorado, Aspen included. It needs to be known that you can’t ski into someone, cause obvious injury and then ski away."
The lawsuit underscores the responsibility of all skiers and snowboarders to operate safely and take care of their fellow enthusiasts on the slopes.
