5-year-old skier survives 1,000-foot slide; parents thank first responders
Feb 15, 2022, 7:10 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — A 5-year-old skier is remarkably recovering from just a broken hand and minor scratches after sliding nearly 1,000 feet down the mountain.
Matthew and his father were out for a day on the slopes Saturday when the pint-size skier started accelerating. He fell face first, was knocked unconscious and kept sliding.
“He was going faster than I could ski down,” said Matthew’s father, John.
Matthew slid uncontrollably through trees and rugged terrain in a fall that was over 500 vertical feet. When John got to his son he noticed he was unresponsive and that his helmet had cracked.
“I though he was dead…I thought I lost my son.”
Tonight after the Olympics on @KSL5TV, hear this family’s message after their 5-year-old slides nearly 1,000 feet in a ski accident pic.twitter.com/3oMbZc6P8k
— Ashley Moser (@AshleyMoser) February 15, 2022
“I thought he was dead. I thought I lost my son,” he said. “I couldn’t see him breathing and I was trying to check for a pulse.”
Thankfully Matthew regained consciousness minutes later with first responders arriving shortly after that. He was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
“He made it through with just a broken hand and a bad concussion,” John said.
Matthew will be in a cast for a couple of weeks. His parents are in awe at their son’s positivity.
“Matthew that night after accident says to me ‘I’m not afraid of skiing, I’m going to ski again,’” said his mother, Jane.