The man who pushed a snowboarder off a chairlift in Aspen last winter was found not guilty of attempted assault this week because he was legally insane.
An Aspen District Court judge made the ruling Monday after Thomas Proesel was diagnosed with schizophrenia, The Aspen Times reports. Proesel, 32, was charged with first-degree attempted assault for pushing Seth Beckton off a lift at Aspen Highlands in January.
The judge ordered that Proesel hand himself over to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo by noon Tuesday.
On Jan. 17, Proesel pushed Beckton, 28, off the chairlift after the snowboarder commented on how skiers are better able to get face-shots of fresh powder than snowboarders, the Times reports.
The snowboarder fell 20 to 25 feet but landed in a pile of fresh snow and was not injured.
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