15-year-old British skier hits tree, dies

Monday, Jan. 3, 2000 | 12:02 p.m.

The girl apparently died of head injuries, the Douglas County sheriff's office said on Monday. She was skiing in bounds on the Nevada side of the Sierra resort, which straddles the Nevada-California line about 50 miles southwest of Reno.

The sheriff's office said the girl was not wearing a helmet. Heavenly is the same resort where entertainer-turned U.S. Congressman Sonny Bono died two years ago Monday when he, too, crashed into a tree.

The sheriff's office said Rachel was skiing with about 30 pupils and seven adults on a holiday organized by the community school in Hayle, just north of Penzance in southwest England.

The Heavenly Valley Ski Patrol and fire department officials tried to revive the girl after the accident.

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