Casper, WY – Five-year-old Elise Johnson was killed on Christmas Eve 2010 when she was struck by a snowboarder at Casper’s city-owned Hogadon ski area. Her family has now filed a lawsuit over the collision.

Parents Kelli and Chauncy Johnson, along with their two minor children, have filed the action in Natrona County District Court against the City of Casper and the Casper Mountain Ski Patrol alleging that 23-year-old snowboarder Craig Shirley had a history of aggressive behavior on the slopes and had previous run-ins with the patrol. They claim that the patrol should have taken action to curtail Shirley’s behavior and should have warned the Johnsons that they were sharing the slope with Shirley.

Shirley was also killed in the collision. Both he and Elise Johnson died at Wyoming Medical Center in Casper of blunt force head trauma, according to the Natrona County sheriff’s department. Kelli Johnson was injured and was hospitalized.

Reports indicate that Shirley was traveling at approximately 50 miles per hour when he collided with the mother and daughter on Hogadon’s black diamond Dreadnaught run. They were the only guests on Dreadnaught at the time.