DENVER -- A teenage snowboarder was not responsible for the death of a skier at the Powderhorn Ski Resort, officials said Thursday.

Jay McCoy, 67, of Laverne, Okla., died Tuesday of head injuries suffered in the Dec. 29 collision.

A 16-year-old snowboarder from Olathe slid into McCoy on the Middle Dude Run, an intermediate slope, said Mesa County sheriff's spokeswoman Tanya Brechlin. The snowboarder was not injured.

An investigation revealed that McCoy's ski bindings released when he was hit and he struck his head on the ski slope. Neither were wearing helmets, officials said.

"While this investigation is still ongoing, the initial indication to investigators are that this was a terrible accident and not a result of negligence or recklessmess on the part of the young girl, or Mr. McCoy," said Brechlin, in a prepared statement.

McCoy was the fourth person to die in a ski-slope accident this season but the first because of a collision with another rider.