A 19-year-old man from Stateline died Wednesday after falling 25 feet from the Dipper Express chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort, authorities said.
The man, identified as Ryan Donald Moore, fell at about 11:30 a.m. when he leaned forward to care for a leg cramp, according to a press release from Heavenly Mountain resort.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said this afternoon that the man had died at 12:46 p.m.
Reports from witnesses indicate that the restraining bar on the chairlift was not engaged, according to the resort. Heavenly ski patrol personnel were in the area and on the scene almost immediately.
Ski patrol transported the man to the base of Dipper Express, and from there he was flown by CALSTAR helicopter to Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
One engine company and a medical unit from the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department responded to the scene.
"His injuries were all trauma-induced," said Van Ogami, assistant chief at Tahoe Douglas Fire Department.
This incident is under investigation by the El Dorado Sheriff's Coroner's Unit.