Man Dies After Hitting Tree While Skiing Wachusett Mountain

A skier died after hitting a tree at Wachusett Mountain on Monday morning, the Massachusetts ski resort said.

The 67-year-old from Shrewsbury was skiing on an advanced trail about 9:25 a.m. when he hit the tree, for a reason still under investigation, according to a statement from Wachusett Mountain.

The Worcester County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the death, saying they were investigating the apparent ski accident. They identified him Wednesday as John Lapato of Shrewsbury.

State police said the man was found unresponsive by a passing skier.

Wachusett's ski patrol raced to the man and gave him emergency care all the way down the mountain until they could get him to first responders waiting at the base of the mountain, the resort said. But the man's injuries were too severe.

"The entire Wachusett family is grieving this tragic loss. All of our thoughts are with the skier’s family and friends," read a statement from Wachusett Mountain.

"Everyone is obviously very disappointed," said Jeff Crowley, Wachusett Mountain's president. "It puts a dark cloud over the whole ski area, it is the last thing you want to see happen."

"We have hundreds of thousands of people go through here during the season and everyone's going away happy and then you have this, and it is just a nightmare," Crowley went on to say. "This is the biggest bummer of the whole season, when this happens."

Skiers and snowboarders at the mountain told NBC10 Boston that it was apparently very fast that this was a serious incident.

"We saw the person, and he was kind of wrapped around the tree-type thing," said Paul Benker, who was on the mountain at the time. "There is a silence type thing, you know you say like what is going on here? And when you see something like that, it kind of scares you a little bit."

"A silence sort of fell over the entire place," said NBC10 Boston meteorologist Tevin Wooten who was on the mountain snowboarding at the time. "We knew something was up just because we heard and saw CPR being administered and to do that from the top of the mountain, all the way down, as they were coming down, they continued that process, it was very scary."

People who spoke with NBC10 Boston say this run is advanced and narrow with trees on both sides. Everyone says this accident is an important reminder of the dangers that come with this sport.

An investigation is ongoing.