Details Released After 6-Year-Old Falls 29 Feet From Ski Lift

NEDERLAND, CO -- Investigators said Monday that they believe the 6-year-old Boulder girl who fell from the Eldora's Sundance ski lift Sunday afternoon was never fully seated in the chair, according to the Daily Camera, and that the fall was accidental. The Boulder County Sheriff's Department stated in a Sunday news release that ski patrollers found the girl conscious and breathing, and she was evacuated to the first aid room where she was treated by American Medical Response ambulance paramedics.

As a two-seater, the Sundance lift has no safety bar.

"From what we have garnered so far, it doesn't sound like the 6-year-old had ever been fully seated on the lift chair, and started to slip off as the chair was climbing and gaining altitude," Boulder County Sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Wagner told the Camera.

Although the distance the girl fell was initially reported by the sheriff's department to be 40 feet, that number has been revised downward to 29 feet.

The girl was treated for possible pelvic and lower extremity injuries before she was transferred to Boulder Community Hospital.

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