A Colorado ski area employee was crushed to death while working on a snow-level lift just three days after celebrating Christmas with his wife and three children.
Clear Creek County officials say 40-year-old Adam Lee got caught in the equipment at Loveland Ski Area and suffered crushing chest injuries last Thursday.
Lee had only recently moved to his native Colorado from Michigan with his wife of 14 years, Erika, their two daughters and a son.
KUSA-TV reported Friday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the cause of the freak accident.
Tragic loss: Adam Lee, a married father-of-three and a Colorado ski area employee (front left) was crushed to death while working on a snow-level lift on December 29, 2017
Lee, 40, was performing maintenance on a conveyor-belt ‘magic carpet’ ski lift when the equipment was allegedly switched on
Lee had worked at the Loveland Ski Area in Colorado (pictured) for three years
OSHA area director Herb Gibson says the ‘magic carpet’ lift — essentially a conveyor belt that ferries skiers and snowboarders uphill — was not in use when Lee was fatally injured at around 11am last Thursday.
Gibson tells KUSA the 40-year-old victim ‘got caught up in some of the equipment.’
Erika Mackay Lee, Adam’s wife, has expressed frustration at the lack of answers about what happened to her husband.
‘I asked that question five times and every single time I was told it was a freak accident,’ the widow tells The Denver Channel.
In the days since her husband’s death, Erika has learned some of the details from Adam’s co-workers.
‘He was under the magic carpet conveyor belt,’ Erika told CBS4. ‘And that’s supposed to have a lock-out system. But somebody came up and started it. And he was dragged under.’
Lee had started out as a liftee, then was promoted to a mechanic, which allowed him to relocate his entire family (pictured together, right) to Colorado
The family had spent the previous two winters apart because of Lee’s job at the ski resort
Loveland Ski Area Marketing Director John Sellers would not disclose any details concerning the investigation into the accident, but he extended condolences to Lee’s family and friends, describing his sudden passing as a ‘tragedy.’
Lee had worked at Loveland Ski Area for three seasons, initially as a lift operator and most recently as a mechanic.
According to his widow, their family have been living paycheck to paycheck and she has been working two jobs – as a teacher and a Target sales clerk – just to help make ends meet.
Over the past two years, Erika and Adam had been spending their winters apart, with her in Michigan and him working at Loveland Ski Area in Colorado. They finally reunited and relocated to his home state last summer, reported KDVR.
She tells CBS Denver the 40-year-old was a dedicated employee who loved his job and would sometimes even work on his days off.
Passion: Lee was described by his widow as a dedicated worker who loved his job at the ski area
For richer, for poorer: Lee and Erika (pictured) had been married for 14 years
A friend has launched a YouCaring campaign to help the Lee family pay for Adam’s funeral and to cover everyday expenses. As of Wednesday morning, nearly $15,000 has been raised in donations.
On Wednesday, Adam’s middle child, a daughter, turned 10 years old. He is also survived by a 12-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. The couple’s other son died in infancy in 2011.