10-year-old Girl From Illinois Dies In Ski Accident

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Delaney O'Connell, a 10-year-old girl from La Grange, Illinois, died Tuesday of a head injury she suffered on New Years Day after taking a ski lesson at a Michigan resort.

According to authorities, the little girl apparently lost control when she was on the hill and crashed into a tree.

Delaney was rushed to the hospital after the accident at 2 p.m. Sunday, but died Tuesday of a brain injury.

The impact was so great that "it broke his helmet and caused a serious brain injury," his mother, Dawn O'Connell, wrote in a message posted on Facebook. "We are broken."

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O'Connell added: "Life will never be the same for our family. We will miss our dear and sweet Delaney every day."

Delaney was taking an intermediate ski class at Thompsonville's Crystal Mountain Station with two other children and a certified ski instructor, resort spokesman Brian Lawson told People.

The little girl had attended ski lessons at the same resort since she was 3 years old and had been classified as a level 4 skier. "She was a very capable skier," said Lawson. "[The hill] may have taken advantage of her or slipped a bit. That's when she hit the tree."

While it is unknown how fast the baby was going, the spokesperson says there was a loss of balance and that the instructor "did exactly what she was supposed to do" when she immediately called for medical attention, according to Lawson.

Delaney's death has been the fourth fatality in the resort's 60-year history and the first child to die in an accident. "It is as if they have lost a family member," Lawson concluded.