A woman from Midwood died after falling off a ski lift at the Hunter Mountain Ski Resort this weekend.
NY State Police say that Olga Filkin, 44, fell at around 2 p.m. on Sunday while on a three-person "D" lift, which she was riding alone. She fell about 25 feet and landed at the lift tower's base. Though the lift's restraining bar was secured in place, investigators tell the Times one of her skis may have gotten caught on a lift cable's support pole, pulling her under the bar. Gerry Tschinkel, a spokesperson for Hunter Mountain, told us in a statement that she was treated by medical personnel at the scene and in the resort's first aid room, but died soon after.
Tschinkel told the Times that Filkin was "a regular" at the resort, adding that he did not know of any previous deaths or problems associated with the lift.
A family friend told CBS 2 that she knew Filkin, who had a husband and two children, back when she lived in the Ukraine. "She is a very good person, very good mother, very good wife. She loved her husband and kids," she said.
Russ Coloton, the resort's president, told us in a statement, "This is a terrible tragedy. We can only imagine what the family is going through, and we stand ready to assist them in any way that we can."
The resort is located in the Catskills, about 125 miles north of the city.
