FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Prosecutors close file on Schumacher crash

French criminal investigators have closed the file on the cause of Michael Schumacher's skiing accident.

French criminal investigators have closed the file on the cause of Michael Schumacher's skiing accident.

Citing 'legal sources', we reported a week ago that investigators were preparing to rule that no one was to blame for the fall at the Meribel resort in the French alps.

Indeed, on Monday, lead prosecutor Patrick Quincy confirmed that after investigating the resort and Schumacher's skiing equipment, "no infraction by anyone has been turned up".

He also revealed for the first time that the rock Schumacher tripped on was more than 10 metres from the one on which the seven time world champion struck his head.

Elsewhere, however, questions have been raised about the helmet Schumacher was wearing, which was found in several pieces at the crash site.

French ski and climbing academy ENSA said it is possible the mounting for Schumacher's camera had "weakened the structure" of the helmet.

"ENSA analysed the piece of the helmet to check the material, and all was ok," a source told the Telegraph. "But why did it explode on impact? Here the camera comes into question."

(GMM)