New Details: Natasha Richardson Suffers Serious Skiing Accident
Report: Actress back in NYC after going from easy slope to intensive care.
March 17, 2009 — -- New details have emerged about the nature of British actress Natasha Richardson's skiing accident.
According to "Entertainment Tonight," Richardson arrived in New York City Tuesday evening after flying out of Canada Tuesday afternoon.
The Toronto Star reported that Richardson, lying heavily-wrapped in blankets in an intensive-care bed, tubes covering her face, was loaded into an ambulance outside of Montreal's Hôpital du Sacre-Coeur at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The actress' husband, Liam Neeson, was crouched down in the back of the ambulance watching as she was loaded, according to the Toronto Star.
Sacre-Coeur spokeswoman Josee-Michelle Simard confirmed Richardson left the hospital Tuesday afternoon to go to the U.S. Simard also said Richardson's family is expected to release a statement on Wednesday.
The Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec, where the 45-year-old actress was skiing yesterday, released the following statement regarding her Monday accident:
"Natasha Richardson fell in a beginners trail while taking a ski lesson at Station Mont Tremblant," the statement said. "She was accompanied by an experienced ski instructor who immediately called the ski patrol. She did not show any visible sign of injury but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor."
"As an additional precautionary measure, the ski instructor as well as the ski patrol accompanied Mrs. Richardson to her hotel," the statement continued. "They again recommended she should be seen by a doctor. The ski instructor stayed with her at her hotel. Approximately an hour after the incident Mrs. Richardson was not feeling good. An ambulance was called and Mrs. Richardson was brought to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe and was later transferred to Hôpital du Sacre-Coeur."
A spokesperson for the resort noted Richardson was not wearing a helmet while skiing and didn't collide with anything when she fell.
People.com reports the actress was hospitalized with a serious head injury, while Extra TV and other media outlets report she's in critical condition.
Neeson, 56, left the set of "Chloe," a movie he was filming in Toronto, and rushed to his wife's side upon learning the news, according to AccessHollywoood.com.
She and Neeson have two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel Jack, 12.
"Liam Neeson left the Toronto set immediately to fly to Montreal," Neeson's representatives said in a statement to Britain's Daily Mail. "We do not have any details at this time but we hope for the best and our thoughts and prayers are with Natasha and Liam and their family."
