Public schoolboy killed in smash on Alps ski slope
A PUBLIC schoolboy died on a skiing holiday when he lost control going down a slope and smashed into the unseasonably hard piste.
Louis Ross, 17, suffered serious chest and head injuries in the fall at Meribel – the French Alps resort where former F1 champion Michael Schumacher suffered major brain damage two years ago.
The pupil at the £10,872-a-term Canford School in Dorset was on holiday with friends when the accident occurred on Wednesday morning.
Last night, as his parents John and Penny flew out to the resort, French police were investigating whether the teenager had been going too fast down the intermediate ‘blue’ run.
The resort has not had significant snowfall in nearly two weeks of mild weather and police believe the hardness of the ground contributed to the severity of the accident.
Friends of the teenager, who had been wearing a helmet, last night paid tribute to the ‘ all round top guy’ on social media.
Louis lived with his family in an £850,000 five-bed country house in Tarrant Keyneston, near Blandford Forum in Dorset.
French police said the ‘good skier’ was going too fast downhill despite signs saying ‘slow down’ ahead of an intersection. He lost his balance and smashed into the slope at 10.35am.
Louis suffered injuries to his face and, according to mountain rescuers, also sustained internal injuries to his chest. A rescue team was on the scene within ten minutes, but found the teenager in cardiac arrest and could not save him.
Rebecca Dowle, 22, a British bartender who works at the bottom of the Lievre piste where Louis fell, said: ‘The helicopter landed right here, and then they were giving him CPR for ages, a good ten minutes.’
The teenager was skiing with six others, including a school friend and their parents and sister. It is believed no one else was involved in the accident.
According to one local TV report, Louis ‘ suddenly fell, banging his head on the ground’, while another source said he had ploughed into a safety net.
But a spokesman from the mountain rescue service said: ‘At the moment it’s not clear exactly what happened. An investigation is ongoing. We are certainly looking at speed as one factor. There was no collision with another person. The conditions were good. He fell hard.’
A spokesman for Canford School, where Louis was a lower- sixth pupil, said last night: ‘We are devastated by this shocking news and are doing all we can to support the family during this time.’