Huetter, 25, claimed the second World Cup victory of her career with a time of 1 min 48.53sec in the Canadian resort.

Liechtenstein's Tina Weirather was a close second in 1:48.62, while defending World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States finished third in 1:48.83.

Vonn, a regular winner at Lake Louise, seemed to be on course for victory but she lost her balance going into the last turn and hit the safety netting.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic medallist, who had been the quickest at each stage before the crash, was eventually able to ski to the bottom of the run.

Another downhill event is due to be held tomorrow.

A super-G is scheduled to follow on Sunday (December 3).

There was also men's action today in Beaver Creak in Colorado, where Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr secured his first-ever World Cup win by coming out on top in the super-G event.

The 26-year-old finished in a time of 1:09.71 having made very few mistakes on the iconic Birds of Prey course.

Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud was the runner-up in 1:09.94, while Kriechmayr's team-mate Hannes Reichelt rounded out the podium in 1:10.04.

France’s Adrien Theaux came fourth in 1:10.15.

Upon finishing, he pointed up to the sky to honour his team-mate David Poisson, who died last month following a crash in training in the Canadian resort of Nakiska.

Action in Beaver Creek is due to continue tomorrow with a downhill event.

It will be followed by a giant slalom on Sunday.