Man at Whistler slams into, skis over face of 11-year-old girl

An 11-year-old girl is still recovering after she believes a skier ran over her face on purpose in Whistler and then verbally attacked her. Ashley Burr has the details of the altercation on the slopes and how police are now involved.

WHISTLER (CityNews) — An 11-year-old girl who was tobogganing with friends at Whistler says an adult man slammed into her, skied over her face, and shouted obscenities at her.

It happened when Carolyn Bachler was with four friends on a multi-use trail on Feb 19.

“My friends said that he could have moved out of the way,” she explains, adding the trail is sometimes used by skiers going to and from cabins.

“He could have gone on the trail but he chose to go where I was. He had plenty of room to move onto the trail.”

The young girl suffered a mild concussion, a two-inch cut across her cheek.

“I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t open my mouth. He hit my jaw. It was on a Friday, so until Monday I had to drink smoothies.”

https://twitter.com/AshleyBurr_/status/1366538768098942977

She was also left badly shaken by the insults hurled at her.

“He yelled at us — well mostly yelled at me. He called me r******* b****, and then told me to f*** off. Then he left.”

Whistler RCMP confirm they are investigating.

“Identification has yet to be determined. We are reaching out to Whistler Blackcomb for assistance. We are still looking into whether this was accidental or not,” a statement says.

Carolyn and her father admit they can’t know for sure whether the skier actually intended to hit her, but both are nevertheless disturbed by the fact that he reacted with such hateful insults.

Tony Bachler says he’s relieved his daughter was not badly hurt, noting the wound is close to her eye, and her carotid artery.

“I’m grateful nothing worse happened. His behaviour afterward is what really affects me. The physical part is going to heal. It’s the psychological trauma, you know, Carolyn, she doesn’t want to go sledding there anymore and skiing she’s having a tough time getting herself back on the hill,” Tony says.

Carolyn says the man was in his 20s or 30s. He wore a jacket with orange on the sides, and was using orange skis. He had brown or red facial hair, and an Australian accent.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Whistler RCMP at (604) 932-3044.

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