An 18-year-old woman, Erin Clare Malloy-McArdle, died after skiing into a tree on a Windham Mountain ski slope on Saturday morning.
According to a press release from the New York State Police, Mallow-Mcardle, who was a novice skier, skied off the trail and into a tree, sustaining massive head injuries. She died at Columbia Memorial Hospital. Here's the full press release:
Investigation revealed that ERIN CLARE MALLOY-MCARDLE, age 18, of North Belmore, NY had been skiing in the area of the Lower Warpath trail on Windham Mountain. MALLORY-MCARDLE, a novice skier, lost control while skiing and left the trail at a high speed into a wooded area where she struck a tree. Ms. MALLOY-MCARDLE had not been wearing a helmet and sustained extensive head injuries as a result of hitting the tree. She was treated at the scene by Windham Mt. Ski Patrol and was transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital by Greene County Paramedics and Windham Ambulance where she succumbed to her injuries.
Windham Mountain posted a statement on its Facebook page:
We tell you with deep sadness: today, an 18 year old girl died after skiing into the woods. M.D's and Ski Patrol were there within moments, to no avail. An investigation is underway. Out of respect for the family, we won’t answer any questions here. We also request that you don’t speculate. All of us are devastated by this tragic event. Please join us in sending prayers for her family and friends.
Fox News 23 visited Windham Mountain on Saturday night to talk to skiers and staff about the accident. You can view their segment on the death above.
Of the many news outlets covering the accident, several report that the trail on which Mallow-McArdle was skiing was meant for experienced skiers. (Sources differ about which trail it was, with the State Police calling it the Lower Warpath Trail while others report it as the Upper Warpath trail.)
From the Daily Mail:
The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, after Malloy-McArdle had gone off the Upper Warpath trail, which was marked as “more difficult” using the blue square symbol, according to the resort.
