American Notes COLORADO

Kari Meylor never knew what hit her. The eleven-year-old skier was standing at the bottom of a hill, her back to the slope, at Winter Park, Colo., last Feb. 17. Suddenly another skier, Howard Hidle, 31, came hurtling down the hill. He barreled into Kari, the force of the collision throwing him 20 ft. into a stack of ski racks. Kari died the next day. A week after that incident, Terrence Coghlan, 38, crashed into Russell Wittman, 8, in Steamboat Springs, Colo., shattering the boy's right leg.

Hidle and Coghlan may be the first skiers in U.S. history to have felony charges filed against them for accidents on the slopes. Accused of manslaughter and child abuse, Hidle, who surrendered to authorities last week, could be sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison. If convicted, Coghlan, charged with second-degree assault, child abuse and reckless endangerment, could go to jail for up to 16 years.

Until these suits were brought, most ski accidents had been handled as civil cases, not criminal proceedings. Grand County District Attorney Gregory Long, who filed the charges against both men, says resorts do their best to protect skiers by erecting barriers and posting warning signs at dangerous spots. "There's usually only one person at fault in collisions," says Long. "The skier himself."