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One of two Ohio teenage girls critically injured in a snow tubing accident at Deer Valley Resort earlier this week has died.
University Hospital spokeswoman Vickie King confirmed Thursday that Jessica Frankel, 16, of Shaker Heights, passed away about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The second girl, 17-year-old Janette Oliva, also believed from the Shaker Heights area, was upgraded to fair condition, King said.
At the insistence of the girls' family, neither Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter nor Bob Wheaton, president and general manager at the resort, has answered questions about the girls' conditions.
Thursday morning, Carpenter and Wheaton said they understood both girls were still alive.
Later Thursday, Carpenter explained that he had gotten incorrect information from the parents of the surviving teen, who were unaware Frankel had died.
The girls, whose ages were initially reported to be 15, were rushed to the hospital Monday night after hitting a tree in the dark on the resort's Success Run.
The girls had been staying in a condominium in lower Deer Valley. They reportedly were both on the same tube when they struck the tree just before 9 p.m. Monday.
Deer Valley officials say tubing is not sanctioned at the resort. Unlike ski runs, tubing areas offer areas where participants can safely slow down.