RSSActress Natasha Richardson is brain dead After Innocent Fall at Mont Tremblant
File this story under the sad and bizarre category. Actress Natasha Richardson, the 
wife of actor Liam Neeson and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, is brain dead after a fall while skiing in Canada at Mont Tremblant. She is being flown back home to New York to be with family and friends so that they can say their goodbyes before she is taken off life support. Normally one would say this is sad but accidents do occur while skiing like in the case of tragic skiing death of Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy. However, in the case of Natasha Richardson, the accident took place on a beginners bunny slope and she was not wearing a helmet. This needs to be a lesson to all whether beginning to ski, roller blade or skate board, please wear a helmet.
The British-born Richardson, 45, fell during a private lesson at Mont Tremblant resort yesterday and allegedly told resort employees she felt fine. But an hour later, she complained of an extreme headache and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Richardson was on a beginner’s slope and reportedly not wearing a helmet when she fell – although headgear is not required.
“She did not show any visible sign of injury but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor,” said a statement from the resort, which is almost 80 miles northwest of Montreal. “Approximately an hour after the incident Mrs. Richardson was not feeling good.” Conflicting reports Tuesday night had actress Natasha Richardson “brain dead Natasha Richardson: One of the Good Guys
She is considered one of the good guys, a welcome presence as a New York transplant on the Upper West Side. With actor Liam Neeson she was certainly a “power couple,” and with their sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, the Neesons were a popular addition to any event.
UPDATE I: Natasha Richardson May Have Suffered ‘Talk and Die’ Syndrome
UPDATE II: Natasha Richardson dies at 45 following ski accident
45 year old Natasha Richardson has passed away at the age of 45 after suffering a head injury during a ski accident in Canada. Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson’s husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death in a written statement. Our prayers go out to the friends and family of Natasha Richardson.
“Liam Neeson, his sons (Micheal and Daniel), and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” the statement said. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
Family ‘Shocked, Devastated’ Over Death of Actress Natasha Richardson
If you liked this post, you may also like these:
Comments
19 Responses to “Actress Natasha Richardson is brain dead After Innocent Fall at Mont Tremblant”
Leave a Reply
very sad..and way too young. I would think the instructors would require a helmet. I liked her in Parent Trap.
My condolences to her family.. such a tragic ending to something so preventable.
heartbraking, I knew it had to be bad for them to fly her here. Thanks for covering.
God Bless her family, this is tragic.
i feel really bad about this. how very sad!
natasha is a wonderful actress and an all around beautiful person.
my prayers are with her and her family.
i agree with you maggie, i loved her in the parent trap.
Very sad story! How tragic for her young sons and husband. I’ve enjoyed her as an actress and I’ve been a fan of Liam Neeson for as long as I can remember.
God give him the strength to get through this tragic turn in their lives.
My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.
I just saw Natasha Richardson on top chef. I grew up in the snow, and we did not have helmets. But probably a good idea for everyone to wear one. The only rule I was taught when skiing was quit before noon. The snow would get very hard around noon. All the accidents would happen around noon. I hope she recovers.
My prayers are with the family. I have heard on Cnn last evening-from a dr. that she may not be brain dead… they’ll know for sure in 2 days. I pray the best for her & her family.
Mythoughts and prayers are with her and her family. I have heard that she may not be brain dead, dr’s won’t know for another couple of days.
My oldest daughter was in a situation similiar to this when she was a child. She was riding a bike down a street, a car pulled out in front of her & she went to put on the brakes of the bike and she went over the handle bars of the bike and hit the concrete pavement,she had 2 fractures and was in a coma for a a week. She’s doing fine today. So take heart.. there may still be hope for her yet.
Very very sad but I cant help but wonder what happened ??? Bunny slopes are very horizontal and slow ??? Did she hit a tree or rock or did someone plow into her ??? Something smells rotten in canada.
Such a tragedy. She was a wonderful actress and person.
She passed on, god bless this family, so sad!
So sad,God bless her
Its very rare that a slow speed skiing crash would result in a fatality. Skiing is a funny sport that way though. You are almost safer on the brink of being out of control than you are trying too hard to stay in control.
Having been a certified instructor myself, I feel kind of bad for the ski instructor too. I wonder if he will ever want to teach again….
What were the autopsy results?
#13 Don’t believe there was an autopsy done.
This is so tragic. She was so young & beautiful. My prayers go out to the family.
God Bless
My condolences to her family.
What a tragic event. My first thought is that she had an undetected brain aneurysm that may have ruptured during the fall. As far as helmets go, this is something that is slowly catching on in the ski communities. Its pretty common here in Maine, but I know dozens who don’t wear them.
I did hear the medical examiner says she died of blunt force trauma, but that was obvious.; I don’t know if they were planning an autopsy.
I was on a weekend trip two weeks ago, and kids with no helmets were doing inverted tricks on a snowboard in the half pipe. Kids… if you are going to snowboard upside down, then definitely wear a helmet. Unfortunately there will always be those same arguments as when they try to mandate motorcycle helmet laws. When I started wearing one skiing, I first appreciated the warmth vs a hat, and I also feel safer in case another skier were to plow into me. I believe it is the law to wear proper certified helmets for all USSA sanctioned ski and snowboard events.
Looks like they did perform an autopsy and it was blunt force trauma that caused her death. They did not find anything unusual.
R.I.P. Natasha
From the story linked to below, it would seem that Canadian “universal health care” is what killed Ms. Richardson. I am intimately familiar with Canadian health care, having lived in Ottawa for over four years, and suspected as much. She would most likely have survived almost anywhere in the United States.
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=358137>1=28101
Natasha will be missed; and our condolences go out to Liam