SOUTH LAKE TAHOE " A 19-year-old Stateline man died today after falling 25 feet from the Dipper Express chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort, authorities said.
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 said this afternoon that the man had died. His name had not been released.
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.
One engine company and a medical unit from Tahoe Douglas Fire Department responded to the scene.
"His injuries were all trauma-induced," said Van Ogami, assistant chief at Tahoe Douglas Fire Department.