French actor Gaspard Ulliel suffered such a severe blow to the head when he crashed while skiing on Tuesday that he would probably still have died even if he wore a helmet, investigators have revealed.
The second skier, a Lithuanian national in his early forties, gave witness testimony to Savoie investigators two days after the incident.
The collision would have unbalanced the actor, but was likely not particularly violent, investigators heard in an interview that lasted over an hour, according to Le Parisien.
Ulliel likely then hit the ground at full-speed, causing his fatal head injury.
French actor Gaspard Ulliel who stars in the upcoming Marvel series Moon Knight has died aged 37 in a skiing accident (pictured on a previous skiing holiday)
The star gained international attention for his portrayal of a young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising (pictured with Rhys Ifans)
The French actor is also the face of Chanel's male perfume Blue de Chanel (pictured)
The crash happened at the intersection of two blue slopes in the Rosiere resort in Savoie (pictured)
The impact against the ground would likely have been fatal with or without a helmet, said an expert, who compared the accident to riding a bicycle into a wall at 40 kilometres-per-hour.
Ulliel suffered significant head trauma and was immediately transported via helicopter to a hospital in Grenoble where he died the day after on Wednesday as a result of his injuries.
Michael Schumacher was treated in the same clinic when he suffered his ski crash head injury, according to Bild.
The second skier in the crash did not suffer any major injuries and was wearing a helmet at the time.
Mountain investigators said the weather conditions were good at the time of the incident.
‘Conditions were good, and not dangerous. There were other adults not wearing helmets on the piste,' a witness to the tragedy told investigators.
Albertville prosecutor Anne Gaches said Mr Ulliel died at 4pm on Wednesday, after attempts were made to save him in the University Hospital in Grenoble failed.
Ms Gaches said in a statement: ‘Yesterday, January 18, 2022, at 4 p.m., in Montvalezan, on the ski area of the resort of La Rosière located in the Haute Tarentaise Massif, Mr. Gaspard Ulliel collided with another skier on the top of the blue run called Tetras.
‘He had just branched off to the left, presumably to join his friends who were on the Gellinotte run.
‘A judicial investigation was immediately entrusted to investigators from the CRS (Republican Security Company), Albertville detachment, by the Albertville prosecution.
‘It appears from the first testimonies and the observations made on the spot that the two skiers both fell to the ground,' Mr Gaches continued.
'When help arrived, Mr. Gaspard Ulliel was motionless, unconscious in the snow. The other skier was unharmed.
‘Transported by helicopter to the University Hospital of Grenoble, the death of Mr. Gaspard Ulliel was declared this day shortly after 4pm by the doctor of the intensive care unit of this hospital.’
His family confirmed the death in a statement given to AFP by his agent, with the authorities launching an investigation soon after.
Ulliel won a Cesar - the French equivalent of an Oscar - for best actor in 2017 for It's Only the End of the World in which he starred alongside Marion
