|
|
|
|
Hit and run ski collision leads to one man's death |
|
|
Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Michael Entin was found here, below the "Slow" banner in Times Square, an area on Mammoth Mountain where Chairs 1, 2 and the backside of 3 converge.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/SUSAN MORNING
“Michael had a kidney transplant in 1988,” said Rick Entin, Michael's brother. “But since then he has traveled to many different countries and lived an active, vigorous lifestyle. It wasn't like he was a sick guy on the mountain.”
In fact, Michael had been to Japan, Austria and Whistler in Canada's Vancouver, British Columbia, in the 2007/08 ski season, according to Rick.
Entin is the only person who was able to give any testimony of what happened during the accident on Feb. 29 because whomever he collided with beneath the Slow banner on Times Square, a run located where Chairs 1, 2 and the backside of 3 converge, skied or snowboarded away.
Both Mammoth Mountain and Entin's friend John Landsberger agree that the cause of the accident is unknown.
Landsberger, who is also a physician, said that Entin stated it was a snowboarder who hit him while he was skiing. Landsberger said that after the accident Entin had a broken scapula, five broken ribs and a dropped lung that required an emergency surgery, among other things. It was “complications secondary to the trauma” that were the cause of Entin's death, Landsberger said.
It seems like a lot of injuries from just colliding with another skier or snowboarder, but Landsberger said it all would have depended on the angle that Entin was hit from. It could have also been dependent on the speed either parties were going.
While there is no record of a witness in the Mountain's files, Rick Entin and Landsberger both claim there was one who said he saw the two parties collide into each other at high speed when neither party saw the other coming into their path.
“The witness said the two collided violently and rolled together,” Rick said. “The snowboarder landed below Michael. Michael stood up and cried for help before he collapsed. The snowboarder then skied away.”
Rick did not know the name of the witness.
Gregg Schmidt, Hill Safety Manager for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, was not around on the day of the accident, but according to the report in his files an individual from the Race Department was the first person to find Entin after the accident had already occurred. Ski Patrol was called and attempts were made to find witnesses, but all efforts were futile.
“Michael was the only one to say that someone had hit him, so we do not have both sides of the story to determine whether or not this was in fact a hit and run,” Schmidt said. “However, any time there is a collision on the Mountain all parties are obligated to stick around until help comes. It's like a car wreck on the freeway. Without any witnesses in this case we don't have a lot of information and we don't know the speed of any party.”
Landsberger thought there had been a witness, but stated that he was an unreliable source.
A hit and run on the ski slopes is punishable by a court with a $1,000 fine or six months in jail according to Penal Code 653(i). In Entin's case, the other party could have been held financially responsible for his medical care after the accident and ultimately responsible for his death if he or she had been found guilty.
“Unfortunately people do collide on the Mountain,” Schmidt said, “but we don't get many cases like this. If you are in a collision you need to stay put; the worst thing you can do is ski away. If you witness an accident contact the Health and Safety Department at (760) 934-0643. Many people who witness accidents from a chairlift will also report it to the lift operator who can then call the appropriate employees. The only time it is okay to leave the scene is to go and get help.”
An accident such as this drives home the need for each skier or snowboarder on the hill to read and understand the Skier's Responsibility Code, which can be found at www.mammothmountain.com.
“Give yourself plenty of spatial awareness,” Schmidt advised. “People ahead of you have the right of way and avoiding them is your responsibility.”
The irony of this accident occurring directly below a Slow banner has left friends of Entin and others wondering if perhaps the area where it happened should be reassessed and made safer.
“People are writing to Rusty [Gregory, CEO of Mammoth Mountain] telling him that they want to start a petition to force the Mountain to make that area safer,” said Debbie Landsberger, John's wife. “That area where Chairs 1, 2 and the backside of 3 converge has all different abilities levels coming into it and needs to be made safer.”
According to Rick Entin, “Mammoth is losing more customers from lack of safety than if they cracked down on people not obeying the rules.” As a skier at Mammoth for about 40 years, and the father of three kids on Mammoth's ski team, he feels the entire Mountain could use a safety overhaul.
Gregory stated that he had not received any petitions about the Times Square area.
“There are a number of high traffic areas where lifts and traffic converge,” Gregory said. “We go to great lengths here to make things as safe as possible. Because it's a heavily trafficked area, we post Slow signs and Look signs and station snow hosts there to slow people down. I knew Michael Entin and feel awful about his passing away
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 01 May 2008 )
|
|
|
|
