Champion Skiier Sarah Burke Dies From Ski Accident
Jan. 19 2012, Published 5:00 a.m. ET
By Amber Goodhand - RadarOnline.com Reporter
Freestyle skiing champion Sarah Burke died on Thursday after having been in a medically-induced coma for a week because of an accident at practice that left her with a brain injury.
The 29-year-old Olympic hopeful ruptured a vertebral artery after a nasty fall on January 10 in Park City, Utah, that led to severe bleeding, at which time she stopped breathing and paramedics could find no pulse.
Sarah passed away at 9:22 a.m. surrounded by her family at the University of Utah hospital and in a released statement they said her organs will be donated "to save the lives of others."
Just last week, Sarah's husband, Rory Bushfield, said in a statement, "Sarah is a very strong young woman, and she will most certainly fight to recover."
In 2006 Sarah was named to FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women list, won the first ever world championship half-pipe event and was notably a four-time X-Games gold medalist.