Report: Medics turned away in Richardson fall

updated 2:39 p.m. ET March 19, 2009

MONTREAL - The first ambulance sent to a ski resort where actress Natasha Richardson fell and suffered a head injury was turned away, a paramedic told a Canadian newspaper.

Richardson fell Monday while taking a beginners ski course in Quebec and died Wednesday in a New York hospital. The New York City medical examiner’s office said she died of blunt impact to the head.

Yves Coderre, director of operations at the emergency services company that sent the medics to the Mont Tremblant resort, told The Globe and Mail newspaper Wednesday that ski patrollers requested an ambulance after Richardson fell.

The paramedics who responded were told they were not needed, said Coderre, whose company, Ambulances Radisson, serves Mont Tremblant, about 80 miles northwest of Montreal

“They never saw the patient,” Coderre told The Globe and Mail. “So they turned around.”

Coderre said another ambulance was called later to Richardson’s luxury hotel. By that point, her condition had gotten worse and she was rushed to a hospital.

It wasn’t immediately clear who sent the first ambulance away or why, but a resort spokeswoman said Tuesday that Richardson initially said that she was fine.

Richardson then said she didn’t feel well and had a headache, said Catherine Lacasse, public relations supervisor at the resort on Tuesday. “So, we sent her to the hospital.’

Slideshow   Reflecting on Richardson A pictorial look at actress Natasha Richardson’s life and career as a member of an acting dynasty more photos

The resort also issued a statement Tuesday that said Richardson didn’t appear hurt and was walking around shortly after the incident.

“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,” the resort said.

The ski resort said the instructor and a ski patroller accompanied the actress to her hotel, where they again recommended she should be seen by a doctor.

Coderre said victims of head trauma often believe they are fine, a mistake that can cost them their lives.

“When you have a head trauma you can bleed. It can deteriorate in a few hours or a few days,” he told the newspaper.

She was eventually moved to a Montreal hospital before being transferred to New York.

Messages left by The Associated Press with Coderre at Ambulances Radisson were not immediately returned. Lacasse at Mont Tremblant declined to comment further.

Richardson, 45, divided her time between stage and screen. On Broadway, she won a Tony for her performance as Sally Bowles in a 1998 revival of “Cabaret.”

Richardson was married to Liam Neeson and was the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave. She and Neeson have two sons.

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