Hunt Is On For Hit-And-Run Snowboarder

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. A nine-year-old girl was struck and injured by a man snowboarding at Big Bear Lake last Saturday and authorities are now looking for the suspect.

The unknown snowboarder rammed into the girl on the slopes of Bear Mountain Ski Resort and then took off, the Big Bear Sheriff's Station reported.

The girl sustained non-life threatening injuries, including a compound fracture to her femur and several wounds to her face. She was treated at a local hospital.

The suspect is described as a white male between 25-30 years old, and approximately 5'10" - 6'2" tall. He was reportedly wearing a black and white jacket, black pants and using a black snowboard.

Rather stupid to have them both on the same slopes. They designate levels of runs, so it's not that difficult to designate separate kiddie slopes and those for boarders.

The accidents like this tend to happen not on the slope proper but on places toward the bottom of the mountain(s) where different runs feed together toward the resort's central staging area. Also happens when everyone is heading in to lunch at roughly the same time, or when it's the end of the day and everybody is taking the same roads/slopes home.

Lots of resorts have dedicated areas for the boarders to do stupid stuff, but it's problematic to keep them confined just to one small area. Being mostly young men, they do think they're immortal and don't understand what can happen if they get going too fast.

It's not just snowboarders. Years ago the same cohort of young guys were dangerous on skis. I've had my own kid mowed down by a reckless skier adn she had to be dragged off the mountain in a basket. A friend of mine was hit by a young man skiing as she was standing in a lift line, and she was so badly injured she could never ski again. And I was hit twice by beginners, non-reckless middle-aged men, who lost control in bad conditions. THeir apologies didn't do much to console me when I ended up spending the summer in physical therapy.

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