Man Remains In Hospital After Collision On The Slopes With Unknown Skier
ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The 77-year-old victim of a hit-and-run skiing accident in Aspen last month is still in a hospital, and authorities are looking for the skier who took off after the collision.
Witnesses say a man in a blue ski jacket and blue hat was skiing in the Meadows area of Aspen Highlands on the morning of Feb. 17 when he collided with Larry Niles.
Niles was rushed to the Aspen Valley Hospital, where he was treated for a punctured lung and six broken ribs after the crash. Doctors later found blood clots in his chest and sent him to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction.
Right now Niles can't feel the right side of his body and can't speak.
Family members say they were blindsided by the accident.
"He was down, and we didn't even focus on anything else other than he was down, and we didn't even look to see who else was taking off," Lily Niles, his wife, told CBS4 sister station KREX-TV.
Niles' family is staying in Grand Junction as his condition slowly improves.
The Aspen Daily News reported that a witness told police they saw the collision from the chairlift and that the man got up after colliding with Niles and stood there for about 10 seconds before skiing off.
Anyone with information about the collision, including who the skier might have been, is asked to contact the Pitkin County Sheriff's office at (970) 920-5300.
