Lanning evacuated to U.S. with fractured neck

CALGARY (Reuters) - American skier T.J. Lanning was evacuated to the United States on Monday after he fractured a vertebrae in his neck and dislocated a knee in a high-speed crash during a World Cup downhill at Lake Louise in Canada.

Lanning was transported from a Calgary hospital in a medically equipped Lear jet to Vail, Colorado, where he will undergo further tests at a local hospital, the United States ski team said in a statement.

"These are serious injuries but the vertebrae fracture is not displaced and does not appear to require surgery at this time," team medical director, Richard Quincy, said on their website (www.usskiteam.com).

Lanning caught an edge on the fastest section during Saturday's season-opening downhill and careened into the safety netting.

He was airlifted off the mountain by helicopter and diagnosed with a fractured C5 vertebra and a dislocated patella.

(Writing by Steve Keating; editing by Ian Ransom)