On Wed., April 23, Bachelorette contestant Eric Hill has passed away from injuries he sustained in a horrible, paragliding accident on Sunday. He was 32-years-old.
According to US Weekly, Hill was paragliding with friends when his parachute collapsed and crashed into a nearby hillside. He was immediately airlifted to a local Utah hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma.
Brian Anderson, Battalion Chief of the Utah Fire Authority gave a brief synopsis of the accident. “Due to the slope of the hill, we had a difficult time getting the patient down, so we called in a technical rescue team and some technical medical specialists,” said Anderson.
Hill, a graduate of BYU, was a contestant on the upcoming tenth season of The Bachelorette. He had already been eliminated from the competitive reality dating game show at the time of the fatal accident.
His sister, Karen Tracy, made an official announcement about his death via Facebook. She shared a heart-warming message about her brother, detailing the great impact his life has on their family and how devastating it is to have lost him.
“Eric shared his final journey with us this morning as all his immediate family were able to be at his side when he passed away,” Tracy wrote. “Thank you to all of your love and support and prayers and fasting. It was amazing to be with so many of his friends and family yesterday in the hospital who came to express their love for Eric.”
“He gave us such a gift of a life fully lived and fully shared, and allowed us all to be a part of his last adventure here on earth. It is hard to think of life without his bright spark, but we know he is on to new adventures. We look forward to carrying on his legacy here and greeting him joyfully again someday. I love you so much, little brother!”
Producers of the ABC Bachelor spin-off also shared their reaction to Hill’s untimely death in a brief statement. “We are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic passing of our friend, Eric Hill,” the statement read.
“Eric inspired us every day with his passion, his courage and his adventurous spirit, and for that we are very thankful. On behalf of our cast, crew and producers, we send our love, our thoughts and our prayers to Eric’s family during this difficult time.”
The new season of The Bachelorette is scheduled to premiere on ABC on May 19.
Image via Eric Jonathan Hill, Facebook
Image via Eric Jonathan Hill, Facebook