Laguna Niguel Skier Fatally Injured in Race at Snow Valley
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RUNNING SPRINGS, Calif. — A Laguna Niguel ski racer was fatally injured when he lost control during a competition and slammed into a snow-making machine at 84 m.p.h., authorities said.
David J. Erickson Jr., 24, died Thursday from head and upper body injuries suffered at the Snow Valley contest, San Bernardino County Deputy Coroner Linda Osborne said Friday.
Erickson, who was wearing a helmet during the contest, was taken to Bear Valley Community Hospital and pronounced dead about 9:55 p.m., one hour after the accident, she said.
“Where he normally would start cutting to slow down, . . . he took a sharp 90-degree angle to the left, and he went down,” Osborne said.
“They don’t know for sure if he fell or put himself down” to try to avoid the snow-maker, she said.
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