Ski patrol illegally moved skier’s body, coroner says
An investigation into a skier’s death on a Colorado ski slope was mishandled when ski patrol members removed the body and cleaned up the scene before the coroner arrived.
Cole Barker, 35, of Georgetown, hit a tree at Loveland Ski Area on March 24 near the bottom of Lift 8.
Barker, who had no vital signs, was declared dead by Clear Creek EMS at the scene, and the ski patrol took the body down the mountain.
The Summit Daily News first reported the story of the ski patrol’s mishap.
“It happened before I got there,” Clear Creek County Coroner Chris Hegmann told The Denver Post.
It’s against Colorado law to move a body from an accident scene without authority of the coroner.
Read more at denverpost.com.
Skiers and snowboarders hike the ridge off Chair 9 at 12,700 feet to ride Super Bowl and Wild child Sunday, March 27, 2016, on a bluebird day at Loveland Ski Area. See photo gallery at gazettedev.gazette.com (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Skiers and snowboarders hike the ridge off Chair 9 at 12,700 feet to ride Super Bowl and Wild child Sunday, March 27, 2016, on a bluebird day at Loveland Ski Area. See photo gallery at gazettedev.gazette.com (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
