After a 5-year-old boy fell from a ski lift chair at Blue Knob Ski Resort in March, authorities have now filed felony charges against his parents.
The father, Micah Porter, 34, and mother, Maya Porter, 37, both from State College, each face one felony count of endangering the welfare of a child. Magisterial District Judge Tonya Osman arraigned them Tuesday morning and released them on unsecured bail. The court set Micah’s bail at $50,000 and Maya’s at $30,000.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, state police reported that the child was riding the ski lift alone on March 1 at the Kimmel Township resort when he fell from a chair. Emergency responders later airlifted him to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Troopers stated it took resort staff about 15 minutes to locate the boy’s parents and inform them of the incident. Information from the resort and a DCNR park ranger indicated the 5-year-old fell approximately 20 feet from the lift onto the snow-covered ground below.
Later that month, Resort Mountain Manager Gary Deitke spoke with state police about the incident. He explained that the child told him he had been trying to adjust his ski goggles and twisted around on the lift chair, causing him to fall. Deitke said he then spoke with Micah, who told him his son was able to ride the lift on his own.
Deitke also told WTAJ days after the incident that he had spoken with the parents and the child by phone after the boy was released from the children’s hospital. The boy told Deitke he was ready to return to Blue Knob to ski.
According to the affidavit, troopers also interviewed a ski lift operator who said he questioned Micah about why the child was not riding the lift with him. The operator said he initially saw the boy and his father on the same lift chair. However, the next time he saw them, the boy did not get on the chair with Micah. When asked about it, Micah told the operator his son was experienced and capable of riding the lift alone, state police noted.
The operator told troopers the boy rode the lift by himself three to four times before another staff member relieved him of his post, shortly before the fall.
When state police spoke with Maya, she said her son was a better skier than she was and that he and his sibling would ski on more difficult slopes while she stayed on easier ones. She told troopers she had instructed her son to wait at the bottom of the slope when he began skiing faster than her, but he was not there when she arrived.
Maya said she believed he had already taken a lift back to the top of the mountain. She then said Micah called to inform her that their son had fallen. According to the affidavit, Maya was unsure how much time passed between the fall and when she and Micah were located and informed.
Micah also spoke with state police about the incident. According to the affidavit, he said he heard someone asking for a person with the last name Porter, which is when he learned his son had fallen from the lift. He was then taken to his son, where he saw him wearing a neck brace before he was flown to Pittsburgh.
While speaking with state police, Micah explained that they usually ski at Tussey Mountain, where a policy requires a rider to be at least 51 inches tall to use the lift alone.
Troopers concluded in the affidavit, “The lack of direct supervision of a five year old child led to this child falling 20 feet from a ski lift to snow-covered ground. Furthermore, it took approximately 15 minutes to locate the child’s parents, who were unaware of the incident at the time.”
WTAJ also spoke with the Porter family in March after the boy returned from the hospital without injuries. They shared their experience and said the helmet the 5-year-old wore saved his life.
“We went through that process of finding them these helmets that were fitted to their heads, we did the wobble test, we have like the most industrial helmets,” Maya Porter said in March.
When asked for comment, Bedford County First Assistant District Attorney Megan E. Will said they could not discuss the case because it remains in the preliminary hearing stage, but added: “The Bedford County District Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring the safety of all the children within our jurisdiction.”
WTAJ also contacted the Porters’ attorney for a statement and received a response saying they had no comment as of this writing.
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