# 14 year old boy dies



## tonicusa (Feb 27, 2008)

Wow from catching a toe edge???
Just goes to show that you never know.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Hardest I ever had.my bell rung was getting off a lift on an icey Jan day 2 year's ago. I would have been knocked out without my helmet.

RiP little guy. Hope his family heels from this.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Any hit to your head can kill you. Liam Neeson's wife was just taking lessons and was wearing a helmet I believe.

So sad.


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

ugh that sucks. vibes and prayers to his family.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Prayers and vibes to the family...rip little guy

Often wonder how I've survived so far.


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## PalmerFreak (Jul 13, 2009)

Awful news, no parent should have to bury their child.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Prayers and vibes to the family...rip little guy
> 
> Often wonder how I've survived so far.


fucking seriously, I've broken 2 helmets the last 3 years.

RIP lil homie.


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## DiggerXJ (Apr 4, 2013)

Ugh I just hate reading stories like this, very sad. 

The hardest I've ever hit was my first year ever boarding and I caught an edge. Wearing my helmet as usual and still ended up with a concussion.


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## trapper (Jan 15, 2013)

What a fucking bummer. That really sucks.


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## Art_mtl (Feb 25, 2013)

jdang307 said:


> Any hit to your head can kill you. Liam Neeson's wife was just taking lessons and was wearing a helmet I believe.
> 
> So sad.


No she did not wear a helmet. And she was on learning slope going pretty slow.


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Often wonder how I've survived so far.


With how many times I've hit my head I have to wonder as well. 


RIP little dude.


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## Soul06 (Dec 18, 2010)

So sad to hear. I wonder if he may have had a condition already that would make him more vulnerable to head injury?
Its weird how some can slam their heads time and time again and be fine while others can do so once and have results like this. I knowmy first time out, not wearing a helmet, I slammed my head *twice* hard enough to leave holes 2-3" deep in hard packed snow. But I was fine minus a little immediate but temporary dizziness.

But anyways...my heart goes out to that family


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## baldylox (Dec 27, 2007)

That's terrible. Condolences to the family. 

I've read that the young are actually far more likely to die from a first concussion.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

damn, that's just the worst..can't imagine


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## 2hipp4u (Dec 24, 2010)

Makes me think about my own kids, they dont ride without a helmet.

RIP little one, hope your in a better place.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

I guess I am good. my head has bumpers on it (from previous hits when young. I think the bruises turned into bones).


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Art_mtl said:


> No she did not wear a helmet. And she was on learning slope going pretty slow.


Read: trying to pole to get moving.

With all due respect, her death was not a skiing accident, it was an accident that happened while she was wearing ski gear.

Unfortunately, the OP seems to a boarding accident. RIP


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## MarshallV82 (Apr 6, 2011)

Wow. That's pretty brutal for catching an edge. 

I broke 2 ribs on a wicked edge slam once when I learning though, so I guess I can see it happening. 

RIP buddy.


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## BearPaw (Jan 24, 2014)

*Really sad to hear this*

Prayers and best wishes to his family too. I just started riding and caught a heel edge my second day out when I was learning and it shook the heck out of my spine. At first I just laid there to see if I was still intact. It was like someone cracking a whip with my head at one end (wearing helmet). I wasn’t going fast and this happened on a bunny hill at extremely low speed. It taught me to always maintain edge situational awareness and if you think you are going to catch one, bail correctly and early if you are loosing control.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

Condolences to the family, RIP kid.
I'd witnessed a toe edge crash by a teenage girl last season at a green run from the chairlift. I got there a few minutes later and also mentioned it to the lift operator when I was getting off the chairlift. The girl broke her nose on impact, luckily she was ok as far as I know, and the ski patrol got there pretty quick to check her out.


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## Taylor_Gang (Aug 28, 2013)

Prayers goes out to him and his family. 

I ask myself the same question too reading this post..."how the hell did I last this long...???". 

My worst injury was catching an edge too on a icy patch. I was going pretty fast and lost control on my heel side. *LUCKILY* I fell sideways and my right shoulder took the brunt of the fall and most of the hit...I'd say 80%. My head ended up hitting the snow last and took the other 20%. 

For some *LUCKY ASS REASON..."Thank god/guardian angel"*...my shoulder did not pop, break or dislocate. I still had *FULL MOVEMENT* in my shoulder when I got back up. 

It was the first thing I checked when I got up to see if it was broken. I didn't even call for ski patrol. I ended up riding the rest of the way down the mountain to my car. Called it a day and left the mountain. 

When I got home...my shoulder was all bruised and *JACKED UP*. Even though I stated that I had full movement...To this day...I do believe that there had to have been some minor bone breakage or fracture...I just never thought anything about it and left it as it was. It ended up taking a month and a half to heal. I never went to the hospital. Now that I think back...I should of went to the hospital because I had health insurance. 

Lesson learned and never forget to always ride within your comfort zone and always help others that need it.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

That's horrible. Condolences to the family. 
Hope they get over this loss one day, and won't ask themselves forever, if a helmet might have prevented that misery (what not necessarily has to be the case!). So sorry.


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## Varza (Jan 6, 2013)

BearPaw said:


> Prayers and best wishes to his family too. I just started riding and caught a heel edge my second day out when I was learning and it shook the heck out of my spine. At first I just laid there to see if I was still intact. It was like someone cracking a whip with my head at one end (wearing helmet). I wasn’t going fast and this happened on a bunny hill at extremely low speed. *It taught me to always maintain edge situational awareness and if you think you are going to catch one, bail correctly and early if you are loosing control.*


Hm, it doesn't work that way for me. Edge catches at low speeds always happen way too fast for me to see them coming or react in any constructive way. 

I feel really bad for this kid, condolences to the family.


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## BearPaw (Jan 24, 2014)

Varza said:


> Hm, it doesn't work that way for me. Edge catches at low speeds always happen way too fast for me to see them coming or react in any constructive way.
> 
> I feel really bad for this kid, condolences to the family.


Varza; It happened to me twice after that and I knew it was coming both times while going slow. The first time I bailed and was ok, the second time I was trying to switch and caught the edge. I didn't wreck like the first time because I knew what was going to happen but I sprained my back knee since my hips were still going in the direction of the switch when the edge caught. I knew instantly what was happening and I think it would have been much worse if I had not prepared myself for it. It laid me up for a week getting the knee back. Now that I am really riding, (consistently linking turns, switching and starting to carve) I am acutely aware of what the edges are doing. I occasionally see blood on the slopes from face plants, which is a reminder to sense the at edge all times. I think it has a lot to do with being situationally aware of the edges. I am interested in your thoughts on this?

Note: All my edge catches happened on the NS Legacy directional deck while transitioning or switching. Since I changed to the Pro Hdx full twin I have much more edge control. Another point is that my GNU Mutant high backs were poorly adjusted as they were not pressing against my calves. This caused balance problems with the heel side. I adjusted the cable on the high back and control on the heel side and edge sensitivity became excellent. Before adjustment my heel side was very sloppy, which trended me toward edge catches.

VR

BearPaw


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## campfortune (Apr 22, 2008)

jdang307 said:


> Any hit to your head can kill you. Liam Neeson's wife was just taking lessons and was wearing a helmet I believe.
> 
> So sad.


A few years ago, when I got off the lift, I was totally absent-minded, then I caught a heel edge. My skull banged on the hard-packed ice first and straight, 90 degree flip, without helmet. I can hear the sound of skull bang on the ice. My skull took 100% of the brunt of the fall.

I didn't even have a concussion. I was just shocked and totally disbelieved.

man, I was luck or I just make from special material?


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## djmisio85 (Jan 22, 2013)

RIP to the lad, and condolences to his family. 

After hearing the Schumacher story (I'm a big fan of his), I ordered a helmet ASAP. Now after hearing this, I'm glad I bought one. I wear helmets for Trackdays, Karting and Cycling, and when you think about it logically, the risk of falling over and hitting your head is much higher on a snowboard. 

Anyway people, ride safe!


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## --weezl-- (Jan 28, 2014)

hey everyone, I was browsing the site looking for other info and came across this thread, and had to join to weigh in...

This is a terrible situation, I feel so sorry for the family involved!

on the topic of helmets and head injuries, my honest opinion now is that it's totally reckless to not wear one, and irresponsible for any parent to allow their child to board/ski without one (not directed at any posters, nor the subject of post 1)


warning, long story, no MAJOR injuries after it

my bad story... early into my first season I had ever boarded, with less than a half dozen days under my belt, I was at a local ski hill, small hill inside town, and was where the 88 olympics were held, conditions are typically ice with a small layer of snow on top, I was probably going about 30-40km/h (20-25mph ish), I had just learned to carve, and was carving hard to my toe edge to turn back, and just as I finish burning off lots of speed, I catch a bad heel edge, flip over backwards, and land directly on my head. Luckly I was wearing a rock climbing helmet I had grabbed for if I decided to go to the park. When I landed I remember feeling the pain, and closing my eyes, I laid there for a minute, waiting for the pain to go away a bit, after about a minute, I sat up, undid my bindings as I was doing so, a man skied up to me, and said that I saw that happen as he was getting on the chairlift (was almost at the bottom of the hill) so he had time to get to the top, and back down to me. I looked at where the gouge in the snow was, that I had caught the edge, and realized it was a good 20 feet from me, but had no recollection of flying through the air, nor sliding once I hit the ground. The hill was closing in about 20 minutes, so I packed up and drove home, I got home, around 4pm, popped a movie on, and promptly passed out, woke up around 11pm, got up, and went to bed, slept till 8am, when I woke up to go to work, (note, this is close to 16 hours of sleep) when I got up, I could not move my neck at all, couldn't turn it even a little bit. Everyone at work was freaking out, telling me I needed to go to the hospital, which I ended up doing after work. Unfortunately, because it was st patricks day, the hospital was packed with stupid drunks, and because my injury happened prior to 24 hours earlier, I was low on the list of urgency, so off to the pub I went, had a few beers, showed back at the hospital, spoke to the triage nurse again, who happened to mention it to a passing doctor, which is when the mood changed. I was immediately put in a neck brace and in a bed, I spend the next 4-6 hours in the ER, having tests done, x-rays and such, finally coming back with a severe case of whiplash, and a moderate-severe concussion, followed by about a 20 minute lecture from the doctor about not coming into the hospital right away, and instead going home to sleep, where I could have died because I went to sleep... and a small lecture on not bringing my helmet to the hospital, so they could see the damage and where I hit my head.

The rock climbing helmet, which didn't have any foam in it, had the suspension system inside, like a hard hat (old model black diamond half dome) was cracked up the back, by about 6" and of course had to be put out of service.

Since then, I have bought multiple different helmets, made sure I have always worn one while boarding, the odd time i'll take it off for a few minutes, but that's it! I was 22 at the time.


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## Crono139 (Jul 7, 2012)

Wow.


> Dayton General Hospital tells us Hunter Conner died after perforating one of the organs in his abdomen as a result of a snowboarding accident.
> 
> The blunt injury to his abdomen from the crash caused him to go into hemorhagic shock.


Blunt Injury to The Abdomen Is The Cause Of Death In Snowboarding Accident


RIP


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## tonicusa (Feb 27, 2008)

Interesting..... the original link made it sound like a head injury to his face. Now that article is down.


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## MarshallV82 (Apr 6, 2011)

I feel like it's awfully hard to slam your head on a front edge catch, at least IME.. 
The three bad front edge slams I had were all rib injuries on my board. Once when I was learning and 2 from trying shit on rails.

The only head injuries I've had came from Downhill Mtn Biking.


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

Crono139 said:


> Wow.
> 
> 
> Blunt Injury to The Abdomen Is The Cause Of Death In Snowboarding Accident


Ya looking like an internal injury as opposed to head injury, so sad. Did the exact same thing last year checking out a jump line. Caught my toe edge at full speed. Lacerated my liver, ruptured an adrenal gland. Took me 6 hours to finally convince myself to see a doctor, thought I just cracked a rib. Head injuries are number one for concern but don't think they're all that get hurt. I manage to take two runs and drive all the way home before I finally went in. If in doubt get it checked out, internal injuries are often a little slow to show how deadly they are which makes them even more dangerous. It's common for people to assume their fine and go try to sleep or walk it off and end up dead before they even see a doctor.


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