However, her orientation continued to plummet, and the hospital's staff realized they weren't equipped to handle what had become a dire situation. Sent to a nearby hospital in Sainte-Agathe, Richardson displayed promising vital signs and breathed easily with help from oxygen. Another call for an ambulance was placed at 3 p.m., the dispatcher indicating the increased urgency of the situation. I've taken a tumble in the snow.'īut anxiety levels climbed as the actress began complaining of a headache and showing signs of confusion. She even made light of it in a phone call to her husband, in Toronto to shoot a film, relaying the news with a casual, 'Oh, darling.

More time was lost as she was taken to two hospitalsīack in her room, Richardson initially showed no ill effects from the incident. Learning that their services weren't needed, they disappeared back the way they came a few minutes later. Meanwhile, paramedics arrived in an ambulance at 1 p.m.

She signed a waiver to decline medical help and walked to her room at the Hotel Quintessence, her instructor and a member of the ski patrol tagging along just to be sure. However, Richardson insisted that she was fine.

Richardson shrugged off the spill, but her wary instructor sought a second opinion from the ski patrol, who subsequently called for an ambulance. Richardson initially declined medical assistanceĪt around noon, Richardson was on the hill with an instructor and nearing the bottom of a beginners' trail when she toppled over her head, free from the confinement and protection of a helmet, banged against the still hard-packed snow. The resort's guests that Monday included 45-year-old actress Natasha Richardson, who was ready to throw herself into ski lessons with the same aplomb that had produced celebrated screen roles in Patty Hearst and The Parent Trap, as well as a Tony Award-winning performance in Cabaret.īut what started out as an idyllic day ended in disaster for Richardson and her family, including actor husband Liam Neeson and their two sons, Micheál and Daniel, as a seeming commonplace fall by an inexperienced skier turned fatal through the questionable decisions that loomed painfully large in hindsight. The morning of March 16, 2009, brought sunny skies and rising temperatures to the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Québec, Canada, the cusp-of-spring day beckoning visitors outdoors to its cobblestone-lined streets and scenic mountain trails.

The parent trap free