Granby, CO – Colorado’s Granby Ranch has signed a contract with lift manufacturer Leitner-Poma to replace the electric drive on its Quick Draw Express, the chairlift involved in a fatal accident last month.

“The electric drive will replace the drive that was operating on December 29, 2016 when three guests fell from the lift,” resort officials said yesterday in a press release.

The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board determined in its preliminary investigation that a “rare dynamic event” caused the chair carrying 40-year-old Kelly Huber of San Antonio, Tex. and her two daughters to strike a lift tower, throwing all three to the ground 25 feet below. Huber was killed and her two daughters were both injured. Resort officials blamed work on the lift’s electric drive by a contractor not affiliated with lift manufacturer Leitner-Poma for the defect.

“That electric drive on the Quick Draw Express had been programmed by an independent drive expert before the start of the current ski season,” yesterday’s press release continued, “and inspected and licensed by the Tramway Board. Granby Ranch followed all protocols in the operation of the lift.”

After inspection and testing following the Dec. 29 incident, the Quick Draw Express has been operating on its auxiliary diesel drive as agreed to by the Tramway Board. However, the resort took the lift back offline on Jan. 18 and is seeking approval to have it operate on diesel power while the new electric drive is installed.

Resort officials hope to have the lift back up and running on diesel power this weekend, and operating on its new electric drive by Jan. 30.