A late-morning call to authorities led to the discovery of two separate deaths Friday at Heavenly Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe, officials said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded at 11:55 a.m. to reports of two fatal accidents at the Nevada-side resort.
According to the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, 33-year-old Nicholas Jamil Haddad of West Bloomfield, Michigan, died after a serious incident on the mountain.
Authorities also identified Brian Robert Fraud, a 57-year-old man from Elk Grove, California, as the second victim. Authorities said he died after experiencing a serious medical emergency while on the slopes.
Two people died during unrelated incidents at a ski resort near Lake Tahoe. (Kate Abraham/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows via AP)
Both skiers were transported to the base area by Heavenly Ski Patrol after deputies responded to the scene, police said.
Despite life-saving efforts from the TDFPD and paramedics, both men died.
A vehicle clears snow along Interstate-80 in the Lake Tahoe region. (Placer County Sheriff’s Office)
The incidents were unrelated, the sheriff’s office said, and the cause and manner of both deaths remain under investigation.
Heavenly Vice President and General Manager Shaydar Edelmann said Friday he appreciated the work of the ski patrol team and the first responders.
“On behalf of the entire Heavenly Mountain Resort team, we extend our heartfelt condolences to our guests’ family, friends and loved ones,” he said in a statement.
In a statement, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Cody Bass offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
“Our community is mourning a profound and heavy loss today. The last two weeks have brought a succession of tragedies to the Lake Tahoe region. On behalf of the City Council and the people of South Lake Tahoe, we want to express our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those we have lost.”
Colin Kang, San Jose State University student, died at a Lake Tahoe ski resort. (GoFundMe)
The fatal incidents come after several deaths in the Lake Tahoe region. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the body of missing recent San Jose State University graduate Colin Kang, 21, was found.
Kang had “gone skiing and did not return as expected,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office shared in a news release on Facebook. His vehicle was found in a parking lot at Northstar California Resort before he was later discovered.
On Feb. 17, a group of nine backcountry skiers were killed in an avalanche near Castle Peak, which is not far from Lake Tahoe.
