'Witness' filming Schumacher's accident says F1 legend was skiing at 'leisurely pace'

An alleged witness to Formula One legend Michael Schumacher's skiing accident has reportedly claimed that the seven-time world champion was skiing at a moderate pace at the moment of the accident which has left him in coma.

The helmet of the retired German champion, who is in a medically induced coma after suffering head injuries during a fall in the resort of Meribel last Sunday, cracked on impact when he hit a rock while skiing off-piste.

According to News.com.au, the witness, a 35-year-old steward, said that he was filming his girlfriend with a smartphone when he captured by chance the moment Schumacher slammed his head against a rock in the French Alps.

According to the witness, Schumacher was descending the slope at a 'leisurely' pace in a maximum speed of '20 kilometres an hour' and the report said that in the background of the film, a skier could be seen descending on an unmarked run between two groomed pistes before falling.

Reports said that the witness planned to provide the video to French investigators.

It is known Schumacher was skiing with friends and his 14-year-old son last Sunday morning when he stopped to help a young girl who had fallen over, although it is not clear why Schumacher pushed off 20m into an off-piste site between the two runs, which was clearly full of rocks.