County OKs $158K settlement in 2013 sledding death on Mount Charleston

Clark County will pay more than $158,000 to the family of an 11-year-old girl who died from heart injuries she suffered in a sledding accident on Mount Charleston on New Year’s Day 2013.

County commissioners approved the settlement Tuesday.

Vanessa Lara was fatally injured when her sled crashed into a fixed-steel fence in the county-owned Meadows area of Lee Canyon. The county installed the 9-foot-tall fence in October 2012, to keep people out of an area off-limits to sledding.

Vanessa was flown to University Medical Center. The crash’s impact tore a blood vessel going to her heart, killing her.

Another child who was also riding on the sled was not injured.

Vanessa’s parents and brother filed a negligence lawsuit against the county in District Court in December 2014. The settlement will end the case.

The family declined to comment on the settlement through their attorney.

Before it came before the County Commission, the settlement was approved by the district attorney’s office and the county liability pool.

The money will be paid from the county’s liability fund.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.