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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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042489
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04248900.034
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 25American NotesCOLORADODanger on the Slopes
Kari Meylor never knew what hit her. The eleven-year-old skier
was standing at the bottom of a hill, her back to the slope, at
Winter Park, Colo., last Feb. 17. Suddenly another skier, Howard
Hidle, 31, came hurtling down the hill. He barreled into Kari, the
force of the collision throwing him 20 ft. into a stack of ski
racks. Kari died the next day. A week after that incident, Terrence
Coghlan, 38, crashed into Russell Wittman, 8, in Steamboat Springs,
Colo., shattering the boy's right leg.
Hidle and Coghlan may be the first skiers in U.S. history to
have felony charges filed against them for accidents on the slopes.
Accused of manslaughter and child abuse, Hidle, who surrendered to
authorities last week, could be sentenced to a total of 24 years
in prison. If convicted, Coghlan, charged with second-degree
assault, child abuse and reckless endangerment, could go to jail
for up to 16 years.
Until these suits were brought, most ski accidents had been
handled as civil cases, not criminal proceedings. Grand County
District Attorney Gregory Long, who filed the charges against both
men, says resorts do their best to protect skiers by erecting
barriers and posting warning signs at dangerous spots. "There's
usually only one person at fault in collisions," says Long. "The
skier himself."