Snowboarder who crashed into woman at Keystone Monday, severely injuring her leg, sought by deputies

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. – Authorities are looking for a snowboarder accused of running into a skier Monday at Keystone Ski Resort, leaving her with severe leg injuries that required a five-hour surgery.

The collision happened around 3 p.m. Monday on the Haywood Trail at Keystone. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office says the unidentified snowboarder collided with the skier, identified as Jenny Elma by her boyfriend, Stu Press. The skier eventually left the scene.

Elma’s boyfriend says the snowboarder was “airborne at a high rate of speed” when he collided with Elma’s leg. She slid about 30 feet with the snowboarder on top of her. Press says the man stayed at the crash scene for about five minutes, then left without providing his contact information.

Elma was transported to Keystone Clinic, where she was diagnosed with multiple fractures in her left Tibia, an injured meniscus and a broken Fibula bone. She was then taken to Vail Valley Hospital, where she underwent a five-hour surgery and had 13 screws put in her leg.

She is expected to be hospitalized through the weekend, and her recovery could take up to a year. She works in product sales at the Keystone Ski School.

The Skier Safety Act requires all skiers and snowboarders involved in a crash to stop, exchange information and summon ski patrol to render aid to the injured parties. Often times, ski collisions are settled in civil lawsuits. But the sheriff’s office does have an open and ongoing criminal investigation.

The snowboarder was wearing light brown pants and a distinct, full-face black and red Ruroc Inferno helmet (pictured above) at the time. He was described as being about 5-foot-9 and about 160 pounds.

Anyone with information on the collision or snowboarder is asked to contact Summit County Sheriff’s Office Detective Scott Wagner at 970-423-8913.