Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

British actress, Natasha Richardson, is in critical condition today after taking a nasty fall in Mont-Tremblant, Québec, Canada. Richardson was taken to Hopital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal after suffering a serious head injury while skiing. Both the New York Post and the Times Out New York are reporting that Richardson is brain dead, but no definitive confirmation as of yet. Richardson is married to Liam Neeson, who rushed to her side after filming his new movie, Chloe. Our hearts and prayers go out to Natasha Richarson for a full recovery.

The British-born actress, 45, who was critically injured and en route to the United States Tuesday, was not wearing a ski helmet when she tumbled down a hill during a private ski lesson at the bottom of a beginners' run.

In a statement, Tremblant spokeswoman Lyne Lortie tells Us that Richardson was "accompanied by an experienced ski instructor who immediately called the ski patrol."

Lortie adds that the actress "did not show any visible sign of injury, but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor." (Another resort rep, Catherine Lacasse, says Richardson "was laughing and joking" after the incident.)

"As an additional precautionary measure, the ski instructor, as well as the ski patrol, accompanied Mrs. Richardson to her hotel," Lortie adds. "They again recommended she should be seen by a doctor."

The ski instructor stayed with her at her hotel, Lortie tells Us.

"Approximately an hour after the incident, Mrs. Richardson was not feeling good," Lortie says. "An ambulance was called and Mrs. Richardson was brought to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe and was later transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur." (source)