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 in 2022
vavea photography/Shutterstock.
A skier has been convicted of manslaughter after colliding with and killing a five-year-old British girl during a supervised lesson on a French ski slope.
The 43-year-old was given a 12-month suspended sentence by the Bonneville judicial court in Haute-Savoie on April 27 and ordered to pay €165,000 in damages to the child’s family.
The incident took place in January 2022 at the Flaine resort, where the girl, Ophélie, was part of a group lesson led by a qualified instructor on a blue-rated slope.
She had fallen slightly behind the other children and was at the back of the line, preparing to turn when she was struck, just beyond a bump in the slope that, according to the defence, limited visibility.
Investigators estimated the man’s speed at around 60km/h - too fast given the presence of learners on the slope.
The force of the collision carried both the man and the child a considerable distance down the piste, with Ophélie found far from the point of impact without her helmet or equipment.
Despite immediate first aid, she died shortly afterwards at Sallanches hospital.
In court, the defendant acknowledged that his speed may have been inappropriate for the conditions.
His lawyer described him as an experienced and generally cautious skier, arguing that the incident was a tragic accident, adding: “If there is one skier to whom this tragedy should never have happened, it is him.”
Slope safety questions raised
The case also focused on the ‘Serpentine’ piste, where the collision occurred.
Although classified as an easy run, it had been the site of several fatal accidents in previous years. Since the incident, the slope has been modified, with improved visibility and prominent signage installed to encourage skiers to slow down.
Lawyers for the family criticised the length of the proceedings and aspects of the response in the immediate aftermath, saying the case had compounded their grief, describing them as “devastated” and “worn down” by four years of investigation.
