Skier who killed British girl in collision in French Alps convicted of manslaughter
Man crashed into five-year old while skiing on a blue slope in Flaine in 2022
The crash took place at the Flaine ski resort in Haute-Savoie
vavea photography/Shutterstock.
A skier who killed a five-year old British girl during a collision on the slopes in 2022 has been convicted of manslaughter (homicide involontaire) by a French court.
The man, now 43, was given a 12-month sentence – fully suspended – and ordered to pay €165,000 to the victim’s family by the Bonneville judicial court in Haute-Savoie.
The incident took place in January 2022 at Flaine resort in Haute-Savoie.
The man was skiing down the blue-level ‘Serpentine’ piste when he collided with the girl who was taking part in a ski class with other children. His speed was estimated at roughly 60 km/h.
He hit her with such force that she was flung approximately 70 metres, losing her helmet, boots and skis in the process. He attempted first aid but she died 30 minutes later in the emergency department at Sallanches Hospital.
Ophélie, 5, was on holiday with her family at the resort.
Her parents, both Britons, were living in Switzerland and travelled across the border for the holiday.
In court, the man’s lawyer Maître Rimondi said that his client was “a reasonable, reliable, and cautious man,” adding that “If there's one skier on Earth to whom this tragedy should never have happened, it's him.”
Hospital, resort, justice system criticised
The Serpentine slope was criticised during the trial, with the court hearing that three fatalities had taken place there between 2016 and 2022.
Maître Rimondi referred to it as a “cursed slope.”
It has since been revamped and now has bright orange warning signs asking skiers to slow down. The area where the incident occurred has been modernised.
The lawyer for the victim’s family, Maître Noetinger-Berlioz, criticised several elements of the incident, from the length of court proceedings to the medical treatment received.
The family are “devastated, depressed, disgusted by the judicial process after four interminable years of investigation,” and were not present in court for the trial, although they were in Bonneville at the time of the proceedings and were offered the use of a translator.
The immediate medical treatment Ophélie received was also criticised. Maître Noetinger-Berlioz said “humanity had vanished” in the hospital.
The emergency doctor who received the family at the hospital informed them that their daughter had died 30 minutes earlier. They asked if they wanted to see her to say goodbye, adding that the body could not remain long as space was needed in the emergency department.
“Both the justice system and the Sallanches hospital need to ask themselves some questions,” said Maître Noetinger-Berlioz.
While the family was not present for proceedings, a meeting arranged by lawyers between the defendant and the victim’s mother took place behind closed doors in a courtroom.
They spoke before leaving in tears, without saying a word. Maître Rimondi stated that for the four-year period since the incident, his client had regretted not being able to express his compassion to the family.
