A father-of-six tragically died while skiing after getting blinded by fake snow bursting from a snowblower.
55-year-old Lee Draper was a devoted dad who succumbed to his injuries after crashing into a bank while skiing at the Brighton Ski Resort in Utah together with his children.
According to the reports, the father lost control while skiing down a hill after getting blinded by powder that was being ejected from a nearby snow machine.
With no means of seeing what was ahead of him, Mr. Draper crashed into a nearby bank and suffered a severe brain injury that eventually led to his death.
“He was the greatest man I knew and the world had lost something great by his passing. He would give almost anything for anyone around him and that he would give everything for his family,” the man’s oldest son, 38-year-old Tom Draper, said in an interview with ABC4.
“He was everything.”
In a tribute to his father, 18-year-old Moses added: “He told me the reason he stayed fit all his life was so that he could do things with us and be with us and be healthy for us.”
As the father’s youngest son revealed, he was with Lee when he took on the Majestic run. Moses went on to recall that both he and his father were blinded by the snowblower while skiing at high speeds.
While the teenager was able to clear his goggles of snow powder, his father didn’t manage to regain his vision in time to avoid the disastrous crash.
Following the kind man’s premature passing, Lee’s daughters Lacey and Shelby told ABC4 that their dad was always so proud of being their father.
“I hope people still catch me in the street and be like you are a Draper kid we love your mom and dad so much we are so lucky to have them,” Jacey said.
“I think that he would hope that we would all wake up in the morning and go fishing or go on an adventure and not let this hold us back,” Shelby added.
Our thoughts are with Lee’s family and friends during these challenging times.
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