Scotts Valley High School science teacher Naomi Lyall was severely injured in a snowboarding accident in Lake Tahoe yesterday.
Lyall was on a church youth group retreat when, according to a detailed post by a friend on the website CaringBridge.org, she fell while snowboarding at Homewood Mountain in the Tahoe area.
A student, according to the post, saw her snowboard go up in the air and found Lyall moaning and unresponsive on the ground. Ski patrol arrived quickly and Lyall was airlifted to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev. A neurosurgeon found no major bleeding or swelling on her brain during an initial CT scan, but she remained unconscious. The neurosurgeon said her condition is stable and that it might take several days for her to wake up.
Friends have asked for prayer for Lyall as she recovers.
Lyall, a chemistry and physics teacher, has taught at Scotts Valley High School for more than a decade and is extremely involved in campus activities, said Principal Valerie Bariteau
She was named the SVHS teacher of the year in 2005 and serves as the advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club, the Rock Climbing Club and Young Republicans Club, according to her staff biography.
“Staff and students are very worried about her,” Bariteau said Monday afternoon. “Our thoughts and prayers are going out to her family.”
Bariteau said Lyall is a very physically active person and enjoys snowboarding, mountain climbing and biking. She attended Biola University, San Diego State University and California State University, Fullerton. She currently lives in Scotts Valley.
“She is well-loved and respected and everyone is thinking about her and wants her back,” Bariteau said.
For more information: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayforna
