Officials Consider Closing Old Happy Jack Ski Area After Second Sledding Accident
The Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service are looking at closing the old Happy Jack ski area after deputies responded to two sledding accidents – including one that killed an 8-year-old boy – earlier this week.
The Sheriff’s Office is now asking people to avoid sledding in the area.
In a press release, the Sheriff’s Office says that a second accident involved a 21-year-old man who went airborne while sledding Tuesday and landed hard, injuring his back.
The man was carried down the hill on a backboard to a Laramie fire Department ambulance and was taken to Ivinson Memorial Hospital. His current condition is unknown.
The Sheriff’s Office says the accident was in the same area where an 8-year-old boy sustained fatal injuries after hitting his head on a tree Monday morning.
“Right now, in speaking with all the deputies within the Sheriff’s Office, we’re all in one opinion to go ahead and have it closed,” says Undersheriff Robert DeBree. “But I think that’s going to be pretty hard to get accomplished right away.”
The Forest Service did not immediately return calls requesting comment.