Student dies in snowboard accident

Kevin Eckerman, 21

After receiving serious head trauma from a snowboarding accident Monday, a JMU senior died Tuesday afternoon.

Kevin Eckerman, 21, a computer science major, was snowboarding on one of the black diamond trails at Massanutten Resort and was injured around 4 p.m., according to senior Lisa Ha, his girlfriend. There were no witnesses to the accident.

Ha said she and Eckerman went to Massanutten Monday because they both did not have classes.

Eckerman was on the trail next to hers and, when he didn't come down, she got worried.

According to a statement released by Joe Grandstaff, marketing director of Massanutten Resort, "[Eckerman] was found off the Dixie Dare advance trail. He was noticed by a lift passenger who alerted the ski patrol."

Ha said the patrol did an "excellent job" in trying to help him.

However, he never regained consciousness and was airlifted to the University of Virginia Health System.

Eckerman fractured his skull and had brain swelling, as well as a blood clot. He was taken into surgery where the clot was removed. However, another clot formed soon after, according to Ha.

Eckerman died at 2:46 p.m.

Friends describe Eckerman as a smart and methodological guy.

"His nickname his freshman year in college was 'McGyver' because he can take any ordinary object and turn it into something unexpected and functional," Ha said.

"You could ask him anything about why or how something got to be that way, and he would come up with a logical answer," she added.

Senior Ricky Pateo said Eckerman was "one of the most intelligent persons [he had] ever met. He was an inventor; he would make the craziest things," he said.

Senior Matt Barker, who was friends with Eckerman since kindergarten, said Eckerman was a very artistic guy. "Kevin always had some creative project inside his head, " he said.

Ha said that Eckerman liked to explore his creative side. "He liked to paint and sketch, paint chairs in particular," she said. "[He would] make things out of wood, decorate the apartment with odd objects — the list goes on and on."

She said their apartment is all decorated with his stuff. "Everything [in the apartment] is an extension of him and his heart," she added.

Eckerman also was interested in politics, according to Barker. While he never wanted to be a politician, Eckerman wanted "to make a difference and make sure people were informed," Barker said.

Eckerman also was very involved in snowboarding, Pateo said.

Eckerman was one of the founders of Boarderline, JMU's snowboarding club, and was an officer for the club's first two years. He also designed the club's Web site.

Ha said, "Kevin is survived by his parents, Don and Peggy Eckerman, an older brother, Paul, and his life partner, me."

A memorial service will be held Jan. 24 in Northern Virginia. For location information contact Ha at hala.

There will be a service in Harrisonburg the following week.