Aspen, CO – The 10th victim of a fatal accident at a Colorado ski resort this season has been laid to rest.
Andrew Garcia, who was stationed at the U.S. Army’s Fort Sill in Oklahoma, passed away on Feb. 23 at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., following a snowboarding accident at Buttermilk ski area in Aspen on Feb. 19 that left him with vertebral and skull fractures as well as brain damage.
The 20-year-old was buried last week in his home town of Dinuba, Calif. Reports indicated that Garcia’s accident occurred when he lost control and left one of Buttermilk’s easier runs rated with a green circle, and that Garcia was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
“It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of one of our Emperors, Andrew Garcia,” Dinuba High School Baseball posted to its Facebook page. “We want to give our condolences to the Garcia family. Andrew graduated in 2014 and was a valuable piece in our season where he pitched in the Valley Championship game.”