Snowboarder On Trial For Slamming Into Child On The Slopes
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4)- It's a trial that's rare-- where an accident on the slopes puts a snowboarder in the defendant's seat for allegedly injuring a child while on the slopes.
The collision happened in April 2014 on the Pioneer Trail, a blue run in the middle of Peak 7 at Breckenridge Ski Area. Snowboarder Matt Grannell is facing two misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and third-degree assault.
"A little 6-year-old girl was skiing on the Pioneer Run at Breckenridge resort and she fell in a spot that had some decreased visibility," said Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Deitz.
Grannell was snowboarding when he struck the child just below what many people call a roller, a flat section followed by a steep drop on the mountain. There is a sign that reads "Caution People Below."
"I heard the screams. I was in front of my daughter so when I turned around she was airborne and I saw the other gentleman airborne," said the victim's father Ken McGlone.
Grannell broke his ankle trying to stop but still flew into the girl at a high rate of speed.
"Very violent... I couldn't believe he hit her," said McGlone.
After flying a few feet further down the mountain, the girl was knocked unconscious.
"At one point we thought we had lost her and she ended up recovering," said McGlone.
The defense argues the girl was stopped in a dangerous area with no visibility from above.
"It's been very traumatic, we love the sport of skiing so to go through what my family has gone through has been a lot," said McGlone.
The prosecutors will have to prove what the snowboarder did was reckless.
"The biggest thing is I don't want what happened to my family to happen to any family. Very tragic," said McGlone.
Grannell's attorney said in court that his snowboarding was done with substantial and unjustifiable risk. The just trial is expected to wrap up on Friday.
