A father of three, who was described as a skilled skier, died after he slid off an icy chair lift and fell 25 feet at a ski resort in Colorado, according to allegations in a lawsuit.
John Perucco was visiting the Breckenridge Ski Resort with a friend on the morning of March 17, 2023, when he boarded the location’s Zendo chair lift shortly before 9:20 a.m. local time, per a wrongful death suit obtained by PEOPLE that was filed in Summit County on March 14 by Perucco’s wife, Victoria Sanko-Perucco.
“Before making it to the first pole, Mr. Perucco slid off the chair due to unsafe snow and ice accumulation on the seat of the chair, and plunged approximately 25 feet, landing on hardpack snow and suffering critical injuries,” the lawsuit alleges.
And though Perucco — who was described as an “avid” skier with 46 years of experience — survived the initial fall, he ultimately died of his injuries while being transported to a nearby hospital, according to the court document.
The lawsuit alleges that the ski resort attendant manning the chair lift the morning of Perucco’s incident “failed to observe the unusual and dangerous condition of snow and ice accumulation on the seat and permitted Mr. Perucco to board despite the unusually dangerous conditions.”
It further alleges that the resort failed to immediately notify the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, which meant the organization was “unable to perform a complete, independent, on-scene investigation into the cause of the fall.”
While the resort did conduct an internal investigation into the fall, the court documents claim that “the investigation was focused only on whether the fall was a result of a malfunction of the Zendo Chairlift itself” — which the resort allegedly determined it was not.
The Breckenridge Ski Resort told PEOPLE in a statement, “We do not comment on pending litigation,” while the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
According to his obituary, Perucco was described as “a fine, kind man who touched many lives.”
He and his wife Victoria shared three daughters, whom he taught “to cheer for ‘Da Bears’, love animals and be ambitious and steadfast in their goals,” the obituary added.
Read the full article here
