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NH Teen Dies in Sledding Accident At Sunday River Resort; Another Teen Injured

File image of the Sunday River ski resort, Friday, March, 13, 2015 in Newry, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP Photo, File
File image of the Sunday River ski resort, Friday, March, 13, 2015 in Newry, Maine.

An 18-year-old New Hampshire man died and a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in a sledding accident at Sunday River Ski resort early this morning.

Three visitors are believed to have made an after-hours trek up a steep Sunday River ski trail, and two of them tried to slide down on a snow-tube-style sled, according to police and resort officials. But the sled crashed into a tree, killing one and seriously injuring another.

Portsmouth High School Principal Mary Lyons told the Associated Press that a senior, David Kohlhase, died in the crash, and that another student was hospitalized. Police say the third person called for help. Oxford County Sheriffs office and other emergency responders were on the scene around 2 a.m., following the 9-1-1 call.

A Sunday River spokeswoman says the Tempest Trail, where the accident occurred, includes both expert and intermediate skiing terrain. But Darcy Lambert says sledding is not allowed outside Sunday River’s tubing park, which is located in a different part of the resort.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and loved ones. The ski community is a small community and today’s tragedy affects us all.”

Lambert says the family of one of the teens involved owns a condo near the mountain. Portsmouth High is planning to provide counseling for students. The investigation is continuing.

A Columbia University graduate, Fred began his journalism career as a print reporter in Vermont, then came to Maine Public in 2001 as its political reporter, as well as serving as a host for a variety of Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Television programs. Fred later went on to become news director for New England Public Radio in Western Massachusetts and worked as a freelancer for National Public Radio and a number of regional public radio stations, including WBUR in Boston and NHPR in New Hampshire.