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British skier cleared in Colorado death

A British skier who was arrested and held in Summit County, Colorado for the death of another skier at Breckenridge Ski Resort was released March 6.

A British skier who was arrested and held in Summit County, Colorado for the death of another skier at Breckenridge Ski Resort was released March 6.

An investigation by the local district attorney showed there was no grounds for charges of first degree assault and reckless endangerment against Robert Alexander Wills of the United Kingdom.

"It appears from all the evidence and from reading the state and case law that this was a horrible, horrible accident," said Summit Country District Attorney Mark Hurlbert.

On March 2, Wills collided with Richard Henrichs of Illinois, who went off a run into a wooded area. He sustained head injuries after hitting a tree, and died shortly after being transported to a hospital in Denver.

In Colorado, skiers can be charged if they injure or kill someone after failing to abide by the skier’s responsibility code. In 2001, a young resort worker received 90 days in jail for colliding with another skier on his way down the mountain at the end of his shift. The other skier died as a result of injuries.

Henrichs was the 12 th person to be killed skiing in Colorado this season. Last year the state had a record high 16 deaths.