Boy may deal with permanent height loss after skiing accident at Lake Tahoe

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- What started as a fun way to celebrate the New Year turned into a painful start to 2020 when a 10-year-old fractured his spine while skiing in Lake Tahoe.

Nolan Chong is now in a back brace and recovering from two fractures in his vertebrae.

The child says he was skiing with his dad on New Year's Eve on a black diamond run when a 13-year-old from a local ski team crashed right into him.

Nolan may have to deal with permanent height loss, according to his doctors.

"I'm not that tall to begin with, and if I'm even shorter, that just kind of upsets me," Chong said.

"Seeing your child getting barreled into at high speed, I was incredibly shocked, scared for his life," said Joseph Chong, his father.

A member of the ski patrol saw the crash first hand.

They say the collision was not caused by reckless skiing but was an "unfortunate example of the inherent risk that all skiers take."

The 13-year-old that slammed into Nolan had his pass suspended for a week.