AUBURN — A newspaper reporter is suing Lost Valley ski area more than two years after she suffered a broken back while riding in a giant ball down a ski trail.

Through her Lewiston attorney, Rebekah Metzler of Brunswick said she was invited by Lost Valley to report on a new public attraction called “zorbing.”

The ride features a large, inflatable sphere inside which riders are strapped and then rolled down a 64-foot hill.

The ski resort presented the public activity as “reasonably safe,” while it wasn’t, according to the complaint filed in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

As a member of the media, Metzler was invited to ride inside the giant ball on June 19, 2008, “when it careened out of control off the inadequately designed course, up and over the inadequate safety barriers and into an area that was not designed or intended for ‘zorb’ use,” her complaint reads.

Metzler wrote in her complaint that Lost Valley “failed to undertake basic and reasonable safety precautions, follow industry guidelines, seek governmental approval and/or use reasonable common sense in researching, acquiring, installing, testing and/or offering ‘zorbing’ at” the ski area.

She suffered “painful and permanent physical injuries,” including a broken back, as well as “emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earnings and earning capacity.” She incurred significant medical expenses because of the injury and continues to pay those expenses, the suit says through her attorney, Daniel Kagan of Berman & Simmons P.A. in Lewiston.

Metzler was working as a reporter for the Sun Journal at the time of her injury. She is no longer employed by the newspaper.

Connie King, an owner of Lost Valley Inc., said Tuesday that she had no comment on the lawsuit.

According to earlier published reports, roughly halfway down the hill, the Zorb struck a short post surrounded by hay, flew into the air and landed hard.

Metzler estimated the ball sailed 8 feet into the air before coming down. After the wild ride, she drove back to the newspaper office then was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where she was later admitted.

Apparently, neither the ski resort nor the operator of the rides had secured necessary state permits before offering the media rides, the Sun Journal reported.

The ball at Lost Valley was made by Barry Billcliff’s Zorb New England, which is not affiliated with the original Zorb, made by a New Zealand company.