Mansfield, OH – A 59-year-old Ohio man died on Friday after skiing into a lift tower at Snow Trails ski area in Mansfield.

Multiple witnesses told Sheriff’s deputies that John Carney of Gahanna was skiing at a high rate of speed and trying to avoid two other skiers when the incident occurred at around noon on Friday.

Carney was pronounced dead a short time later at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital.

Family members indicate that Carney was an experienced skier who at one time served as a ski instructor. He was not wearing a helmet.