More details released in fatal ski accident at Crabbe
Officials at Crabbe Mountain are still piecing together what happened last week, when a ski instructor died in a collision with another skier.
David Moore, 62, was a veteran on the hill and a respected snow school instructor. He died at the scene after hitting a teen at the bottom of one of the runs.
Jason Crawford, Crabbe Mountain's general manager, said a review of the incident found the two didn't run into each other — but rather, it appears Moore struck her when she was getting her skis back on.
Crawford said they're still trying to understand how Moore lost control but have already ruled out the man's eyesight as an issue.
"Now his vision problems were colour related — so he had trouble with pale colours and light colours — that was initially a concern except for the girl's snowsuit was a very bright purple colour so that kind of ruled that out," he said.
Based on his injuries, Crawford suspects Moore caught his pole in the snow which then hit him in his ribs, forcing him off-balance.
"There was a girl, a teenage girl, that had fallen, and she got back up and was putting her skis back on when Dave struck her from behind. From what I've heard from the autopsy report is that he does have a large bruise in his rib area," said Crawford.
"Possibly, as he was going to help the girl, he might have caught an edge or jammed his ski pole into the snow or caught himself in the ribs which would throw him off balance."
Both skiers were wearing helmets, according to the president of Crabbe Mountain, Leslie Wilson, who is based in Wentworth, N.S.
Wilson said the collision happened on a fairly flat part of the hill. She said in the 10 years she has worked for the family-owned business, this is the first fatality, as far as she knows.
Worksafe NB is still investigating the collision. No autopsy results have been released publicly.
Meanwhile, the ski hill plans to hold a candlelight vigil on the mountain Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Moore's memory. The public is invited to attend.
