Ski Resort: Natasha Richardson Fell in Beginners Trail; No Visible Injuries

Natasha Richardson fell in a beginners trail Monday while taking a ski lesson at Station Mont Tremblant near Montreal, Usmagazine.com has confirmed.

The British-born actress, 45, who was critically injured and en route to the United States Tuesday, was not wearing a ski helmet when she tumbled down a hill during a private ski lesson at the bottom of a beginners' run.

In a statement, Tremblant spokeswoman Lyne Lortie tells Us that Richardson was "accompanied by an experienced ski instructor who immediately called the ski patrol."

Lortie adds that the actress "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." (Another resort rep, Catherine Lacasse, says Richardson "was laughing and joking" after the incident.)

"As an additional precautionary measure, the ski instructor, as well as the ski patrol, accompanied Mrs. Richardson to her hotel," Lortie adds. "They again recommended she should be seen by a doctor."

The ski instructor stayed with her at her hotel, Lortie tells Us.

"Approximately an hour after the incident, Mrs. Richardson was not feeling good," Lortie says. "An ambulance was called and Mrs. Richardson was brought to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe and was later transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur." (Richardson's husband, actor Liam Neeson , rushed to her bedside from the set of his latest film, Chloe, which is shooting in Toronto, IrishCentral.com reported late Monday.)

A rep for the Hopital du Sacre-Coeur tells Us Richardson checked in Monday and checked out at 12:30 p.m. (Montreal time) Tuesday. According to the Toronto Star, the actress left the hospital on an intensive care gurney, wrapped in blankets, as Neeson sat in the awaiting ambulance.

Richardson, joined by her family, was admitted into New York City's Lenox Hill hospital Tuesday evening. The actress' mother, Vanessa Redgrave, was seen leaving the couples' Manhattan apartment at 9pm that night, arriving at Lenox Hill shortly after.

Both the New York Post and Time Out New York are reporting that the actress is brain dead, although no one representing the couple has confirmed the news or released any additional information.

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As the extent of her injuries remains unclear, her uncle Corin Redgrave told the British press, "I have heard this morning from a family representative about Natashas accident and am very saddened."

Richardson and Neeson -- who married in 1994 after appearing in the drama Nell -- have two sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12.

Richardson is the daughter of famed British actress Vanessa Redgrave, 72, and producer Tony Richardson, who died in 1991.



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