Service planned for ski patrol volunteer from Winnetka killed in Mt. Waterman skiing accident


ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST >> Services are planned Friday for a Winnetka man and volunteer ski patrol member who died over the weekend in a skiing accident near Mt. Waterman, officials said.
William Robert Eslick Jr., 61, died Saturday afternoon after he struck a tree while skiing near Mt. Waterman, deep in the Angeles National Forest north of the San Gabriel Valley, Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations at the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said.
A memorial service is planned at 11 a.m. Friday at the Elks Club, 20925 Osborne Street in Canoga Park, according to the National Ski Patrol.
The accident took place about 12:30 p.m., Winter said.
“Two patrons on a ski lift heard a loud impact,” he said. They reported it to the NSP, and Eslick’s patrol partner soon found him.
Paramedics soon found Eslick and pronounced him dead at the scene, officials said.
An autopsy determined he died from blunt force trauma to the chest, with a contributing cause of heart disease, Winter said. The death was ruled accidental.
Eslick was described as “an expert skier” and ski instructor who volunteered for the NSP’s Far West Division, Winter added.
Family members could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Eslick’s colleagues in the NSP, Far West Division Director Bill Gibson said.
“On behalf of the National Ski Patrol family, we are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill’s family,” Gibson said. “Because the accident is under investigation, we cannot provide further comment regarding the accident at this time.

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