Details about Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident have begun to emerge following a press conference on Wednesday, in which French investigators provided additional information.
They are focusing on helmet camera footage which has been provided and they don’t believe speed to be a key contributor to the German’s December 29th fall.
Addressing the gathered media, Patrick Quincy said further investigation was needed and that the accident was likely caused by Schumacher’s ski hitting an exposed rock which caused him to fall.
“We are going to study the film with the best qualified people and with experts,” he said.
“If necessary we will be able to say what the speed was – but speed is not a particularly important aspect for us, nor [will it be] important for decisions we will likely take at the end of the inquiry.”
Quincy says he and the French authorities have spoken to a number of witnesses and family members and they have even reconstructed the accident to get a better understanding of exactly how it happened.
“He [Schumacher] reached an intersection between a red and a blue run,” he said.. “He followed the red piste and he went off piste.
“He is evidently a very good skier but one of his skis hit a rock that was sticking out of the piste.
“The rock that he hit was eight metres from the piste. His positioning after he fell was nine metres away from the piste.
“The skis were in perfect condition. They weren’t the cause of the accident – however there is a scratch underneath the skis that proves that he did indeed hit a rock.”
He also dismissed reports that a skier had caught the incident in the background of his own video, adding: “I heard people talk about a film that was taken by a witness, but we have not received anything from this person. Personally, I doubt that really it exists.”
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