Just a few days ago I blogged about the reasons why skiers and snowboarders say they refuse to wear helmets. I said it was ridiculously foolish, because helmets cut down on injuries. But protective head gear doesn’t always save a life.
https://tbilaw.com/blog/helmets-help-dont-hinder-skiers-and-snowboarders-research-finds/
Last Monday on an Aspen ski slope a Pennsylvania woman sustained a fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) when another skier crashed into her, according to the Aspen Times.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20130205/NEWS/130209928/1077&ParentProfile=1058
Natalie Egleston, 48, of Ardmore, Pa., was unconscious and unresponsive by the time a ski patrol got to her on the slope. The patrol used “advanced life-saving measures” on her, to no avail. An ambulance took her to Aspen Valley Hospital, and she was pronounced dead there, according to the Aspen Times.
Both Egleston and the skier who slammed into her, Manhattan Dr. Virginia Chen, 53, were wearing helmets, the Aspen Times reported.
It appeared that Egleston had stopped to clean off her goggles when she was struck by Chen.
The fact that Egleston died of a TBI, even when wearing a helmet, is no excuse for a skier not to wear one. She must have been struck with such force that the helmet just couldn’t prevent her fatal brain injury.
According to authorities, Chen only had minor injuries from the accident. The helmet may not have saved Egleston’s life, but maybe it protected Chen from a TBI.
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