Snowboarder hits kid, kids father punches snowboarder (video)

[MadMadWorld]

Agreed. And as I said, when you're with a little kid I can imagine that a kid is going to stop in bad places. It is what it is.



From what I saw, the kid was below the Dad. And I still don't see enough to convince me that he was encouraging the kid to go ahead. It looks like they're just standing there.



Agreed.



I agree to some extent, but just being a Dad I know that if someone hurt my kid watch out. I would hope I would not hit someone but when your kid has been plowed over you have a right to be very upset....just instinctively. It's really easy for us to be Monday Morning Quarterbacks from our offices and living rooms while watching this in replay over and over again. But in the moment is there any Dad here who will tell me that they would not be ripped? I think not. Doesn't justify punching the guy.

I'm a dad of 2 young skiers myself and yea I would be pissed. But if I went over to the kid (after checking on my own) and he seemed genuinely concerned about my kid and didn't brush me off then I would hope I would be a lot more reasonable. Think about if that snowboarder was your own kid. My kids have fallen and slid into other people before and thankfully they have never been treated that way. It seemed like a genuine mistake and the dad didn't even give him a chance.

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[Abubob]

when its a fast paced, bang-bang style situation happening.

This is the problem right here. On a crowded beginner slope there should be no "bang-bang style situation happening". That's why I had said the snowboarder was going too fast. You have to expect erratic behavior when you've large numbers of beginners. You just CANNOT go buzzing right through. The driving of cars analogy is essentially correct. You don't go through what is basically a parking lot without expecting to come to a complete halt. At any moment. Without warning.

Still think the father could be sued for assault and battery though.

 

[Highway Star]

Damian?

Welcome to 2006...........:roll:

 

[thetrailboss]

Both of you clearly did not watch the video from the beginning. The group starts down the hill around the 3:00 mark and successfully avoids multiple people at a very reasonable speed. The snowboarder slows up at 3:55 for two kids, one of which later cuts into him at 4:15. I didn't day this before, but the kid who cuts in from the left was not following point 4 and should have looked over their shoulder before merging into the trail.

Good point for something completely unrelated to what I was saying. I was saying that from what I saw the young boy was downhill from the snowboarder and barely moving if at all.

 

[Newpylong]

If you're going through a slow zone with kids all over you slow down and give people a wide margin, simple. A kid that small does not "come out of nowhere" and should have been avoided.

Does not make up for father going off deep end though.

 

[Highway Star]

Wow, it is scary to read people think the snowboarder was in control. He was going too fast through slow zone and tooclose to those people, end of story. If you're going through a slow zone with kids all over you slow down and give people a wide margin, simple.

Does not make up for father going off deep end though.

You clearly did not watch from 3:00 onwards. He slows down several times. He first slows down for teal jacket kid around 3:50, and is then traveling at an equivalent speed for around 20 seconds.

 

[deadheadskier]

Tough situation. If I was the guy wearing the helmet cam, I would've dropped almost all my speed when I saw the little girl coming from the left. Even if the little boy hadn't come out from Dad where he unfortunately got hit, the guy would've had to buzz by the dad anyways with not much room for error. The guy clearly chose to try and overtake the little girl. Not a wise decision in those traffic conditions. Then again, I ski way more defensively than most when I'm on the slope with lots of little kids or beginners; they're too unpredictable.

I'd be furious if I was the father too, but you can't strike someone (even a slap across the face like that) unless they pose a threat to you or others. A non-defensive strike is assault.

Hope the kid heals quickly and has a short memory. Hope the boarder never forgets and rides more responsibly in the future.

 

[crank]

Accidents happen. My kid was wiped out he he was 7 by a boarder who was unable to stop. I did not get pissed off and was just concerned that my kid was OK. The boarder was a polite teenager and actually picked my kid up and hugged him to his chest as they went sliding down a very steep slope... nothing I could do but watch it happen.

I this case I think the little kid may have fallen there and his dad was shielding him from uphill traffic. You really can't see the kid until he appears from behind his dad. Dad was/is a douche.

Could the boarder have been a little more cautious, sure he could have. However, the green jacket coming in from the left forced him into a narrow lane that got suddenly cut off when the little kid emerged from behind dad.

And the code is more of a suggestion. It ain't gonna keep anyone from hitting you.

 

[thetrailboss]

Some more info:

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=27909656&ni...s-caught-on-camera&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-2

You know I read that and I really feel like the kid is milking it a little bit ...

statements like

KSL is probably the worst media outlet I have seen. I watched the video and it was very one sided...probably because they did not like the "cussing" (KSL is owned by the LDS church and they have a lot of editorial discretion). Kudos that the snowboarder was straight up and admitted that he was wrong and it was a mistake. But they did not get into the fact that it is pretty clear that he was going too fast for the conditions. They did say that (somehow) the two did meet up later and exchanged apologies.

I don't condone the battery by the Dad, but I do have some understanding of where that is coming from.

 

[MadMadWorld]

No, not technically. The dad is technically at fault here. Know the code.

So you are basically condoning the behavior of the snowboarder because they broke a skier "code"? I'm not saying this kid deserved what he got but deflecting blame for the accident is ridiculous. The snowboarder shouldnt get off just because the father and child broke the "code". The car argument has been used a million times but I can't just rear end someone because they have a tail light out or side swipe someone because they passed me on the right.

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[Highway Star]

So you are basically condoning the behavior of the snowboarder because they broke a skier "code"? I'm not saying this kid deserved what he got but deflecting blame for the accident is ridiculous. The snowboarder shouldnt get off just because the father and child broke the "code". The car argument has been used a million times but I can't just rear end someone because they have a tail light out or side swipe someone because they passed me on the right.

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The snowboarder was riding in a very reasonable manner consistant with the skiers code and is not at fault. Teal jacket kid and the father both were NOT following the code, and are at fault.

 

[thetrailboss]

The snowboarder was riding in a very reasonable manner consistant with the skiers code and is not at fault. Teal jacket kid and the father both were NOT following the code, and are at fault.

Didn't realize that the code requires eyes in the back of one's head.

 

[Highway Star]

Didn't realize that the code requires eyes in the back of one's head.

No, they just require you to read them, comprehend them, and put them into practice. How's that working for you, get run into much...?

 

[HowieT2]

The snowboarder was riding in a very reasonable manner consistant with the skiers code and is not at fault. Teal jacket kid and the father both were NOT following the code, and are at fault.

you're entitled to your opinion, but I think you are way off base. I hope you dont ski/board with that attitude.

 

[deadheadskier]

you're entitled to your opinion, but I think you are way off base. I hope you dont ski/board with that attitude.

he's a top 20 skier at Killington. He clearly doesn't have these problems

 

[dlague]

Made me think about how dangerous beginner trails might be. We had a friend who was snowboarding for the first time ever. She took a private lesson and was doing pretty well until they decided to do one more run and when heading toward the lift line a father and his son (4-5 ish) skied by her and the instructor then stopped. He panicked and tried to stop quickly and landed on her bottom with the board up in the air and as a result she gashed the kid on the forehead. The father in this case was cool about it since he realized they cut her off. But she was sick to her stomach thinking about how much worst it could have been. A trail full of people that do not know what they are doing while it is the run out for those who do (technically). Same case for trails that get pinched - people all vying for the same path and the ability, experience and knowledge level varies greatly.

in the case of this thread, more caution by the snowboarder and better attention by the father in protecting his kid would have produced different results!

 

[billdee]

Some of the earlier comments probably are unfair to the father. What struck me is just how quickly the hit happened and then the dad reacted instantaneously. There's no question the boarder is at fault -- he and his buddies are faster than everybody else on a mixed use trail, they're weaving in and out and need to be on the side and slower. You MUST be in control -- full stop. They weren't being crazy, but more caution was called for. This happens all the time when speed and skill differential is great...the margin of safety is so small.

I am sympathetic to the Dad who just saw his kid whomped -- no question he shouldn't have hit the kid and I bet he regrets it hard, but when your child is hit like that most any Dad would flip. The surge of anger and adrenaline just cannot be underestimated when you see your child needlessly hit. The hit was a big deal and the teenager, no matter how considerate immediately afterwards, did deserve a chewing out. Doesn't happen enough these days, from what I see on the slopes and in life. I agree that teenagers, especially boarders, are often unfairly stereotyped, but spend a day at Killington and it doesn't take long to see boorish and risky behavior. Every parent would assume it was the older teen's fault and be ripped.

Nobody feels good about what happened, but I will have my teens watch this and think about how to handle themselves better on the slopes.

 

[Stache]

you're entitled to your opinion, but I think you are way off base. I hope you dont ski/board with that attitude.

He does. That is why he posted this and is tying to preemptively build his defense for when he has the collision with someone in front of him.

Two wrongs don't make a right. In fact it usually makes something twice as bad. Dad is (justifiably) guilty of assault.

Boarder is guilty of "Speed too fast for conditions." Way too often folks pass other folks at speed far in excess of the 110% rule. You should only be travelling 10% faster than the person you are overtaking. In an area with multiple threats (targets) not more than 10% faster than the slowest one.
Rule #1 is #1 for a reason, it is the most important. It very clearly puts the responsibility on folks to slide in a manner that they do not crash into anything.
Rules #3 & #4 are more for self preservation than assigning blame.

What I preach and teach to my ski school students, "There is a WORLD of difference between 'not meaning' to do something and MEANING NOT to do something."

 

[mister moose]

RE leaving scene of accident:

No, it's not. It's not a car accident, and I wouldn't expect him to stick around when the Dad is going off on him and being physically violent. He wasn't trying to avoid responsibility as he stopped and asked if the kid was ok. The boarder seemed more concerned with the kid's condition after the crash than the dad. As others have said, hitting the boarder was just stupid. He's lucky the kid didn't have a bunch of nutjob friends with him. He could have gotten his head caved in by some psycho right in front of his son. He could still end up facing assault charges. There is just no excuse for that behavior, and that is coming from someone with a pretty short fuse himself.

I'm pretty sure it is in most ski states. I couldn't find VT or Utah (where it happened) in a few minutes of googling, but here is California's law:

c​

CAL. PENAL CODE​

§ 602(q) (West 2001), provides that it is a misdemeanor to ski on aclosed ski trail, and §§653(i) makes leaving the scene of a skiing​

accident punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.

 

[thetrailboss]

you're entitled to your opinion, but I think you are way off base. I hope you dont ski/board with that attitude.

he's a top 20 skier at Killington. He clearly doesn't have these problems

Watch out for someone doing mandatory GS turns.

No, they just require you to read them, comprehend them, and put them into practice. How's that working for you, get run into much...?

I understand them quite fine, thank you. And I don't cause any problems on the slopes personally.