SNOWMASS — The death of a 77-year-old man whose heart stopped Tuesday after he struggled to get out of deep snow on the side of a ski trail may be ruled a homicide, according to authorities.
Before he died, Thomas Berg lund, of Kalamazoo, Mich., told a good Samaritan that he had been run off the trail by another skier or rider.
“He said he was forced off the trail by a ‘kid,’ ” said Philip Shalen of Snowmass Village.
Pitkin County Coroner Steve Ayers said Wednesday his office initially didn’t investigate the case because it was determined to be a death by natural causes. But Ayers said that if another skier or rider forced Berglund off the trail, it could be a violation of the Colorado Skier Safety Act.
In addition, since Berglund suffered cardiac arrest as a result of trying to get out of a situation caused by allegedly getting forced off the trail, “it could be a criminally negligent homicide” even if the cause of death wasn’t directly related to being forced off the trail, he said.
