The 30-year-old British skier faces a manslaughter trial over the crash that killed the 78-year-old former Italian mayor. He insists he was “not speeding” on the track when a “tragic accident” occurred and vows to take the matter to court to fight

A British skier charged with manslaughter over a crash that killed an Italian ex-mayor has claimed he was not skiing down a slope at high speed when the accident happened and has vowed to fight cause

Rhys Phillips, 30, is accused of negligence after hitting 78-year-old Rizieri Ongaro from behind on the Fertazza slope in the Civetta ski resort in the Dolomites on March 8 last year, according to local media reports of the accident.

Speaking to MailOnline, Phillips’ lawyers Ernesto Caracciolo and Aldo Bissi said their client denied any wrongdoing and insisted it was simply a tragic accident.

Mr Caracciolo added: “Our client is a novice and was driving very slowly and was wearing a helmet. “He was not speeding at all because he is a novice.

“He was skiing in front of the victim and it was the victim who crashed into him. Our client is obviously very upset about what happened, but he is a good man and he plans to fight the case.

“We could have pleaded, but that would have been an admission of guilt that would have tainted him for the rest of his life, and he doesn’t want that.”

“We have several witnesses who can support our version of events and we look forward to presenting it in court next year.”

If convicted, Philipps is unlikely to spend any time behind bars because he has no criminal record and was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. The sentence is suspended.

The charge against Phillips, from Aldershot, Hampshire, is said to be based on a breach of skiing rules, “failure to maintain the required distance and moderate speed due to the shared presence of other skiers on the track”.

Phillips, a British national currently living in Denmark, was visiting the Dolomites for a week-long hike on the slopes with his girlfriend and a group of other Danish skiers when disaster struck.

The young English skier bruised a shoulder in the collision, while Ongaro’s injuries were fatal.

The Fertazza slope in the Civetta ski area in the Dolomites (stock photo)

The trial, which began on November 7 in a court in Belluno, will hear all the witnesses requested by the parties on May 20 next year.

Among them will be two eyewitnesses who sat in a chairlift and observed the accident from above, as well as rescuers who provided first aid.

The forensic doctor Antonello Cirnelli is also being summoned to court.

Cirnelli, on behalf of the Belluno prosecutor’s office, determined that the cause of Ongaro’s death was the collision between the skiers and ruled out the possibility of illness as the cause of death.

Ongaro, who that day had a “besial physique” that enabled him to carry his skis on his shoulders, died of “metahemorrhagic shock due to post-traumatic bilateral massive thoracic hemopnea.”

At the next hearing, he will be questioned in court to give his version of the events with the help of an interpreter.