Middlebury skier Kelly Brush seriously injured during Williams carnival

Middlebury skier Kelly Brush seriously injured during Williams carnival{mosimage}Kelly Brush, a sophomore at Middlebury College and a member of the varsity alpine ski team, was seriously injured on Saturday, Feb. 18, in a fall during the women’s giant slalom at the Williams College Winter Carnival. The race was held at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, Mass.

Brush, 19, missed a gate and slid off course, traveling about 100 feet before striking a lift tower with her back. She was attended to by the Jiminy Peak ski patrol and Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association officials on the scene, where she was stabilized and then transported to the base of the hill. From there she was taken via ambulance to the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass., where she underwent surgery for injuries to her vertebrae and spinal cord.

“She’s totally alert, totally there; she’s Kelly,” said Forest Carey, alpine head coach, after his most recent visit with Brush on Feb. 21. Carey, who has spent most of the past few days at the hospital in Pittsfield, said Brush’s family and friends had been with her the entire time, and that she has received a steady stream of visitors, including the entire ski team.

Kelly’s sister Lindsay is a junior at Middlebury and also a member of the alpine team. Her parents, Charlie and Mary Brush, live in Charlotte, Vt. Charlie Brush skied for Middlebury and later served as a ski and football coach at the college.

Said Russ Reilly, director of athletics at Middlebury, “The thoughts and prayers of her teammates and coaches and all members of the Middlebury College community are with Kelly and her family.”

– Middlebury College