Winona State student killed in snowboarding accident

Funeral services are this weekend for a Winona State University student who died Sunday in a snowboarding accident in Duluth. 

 

Investigators say 20-year-old Derek Harms was snowboarding with friends Sunday afternoon at Duluth’s Spirit Mountain on one of the most challenging hills.  After waiting for him to make it down, his friends went to look for him and found him on the ground.  

 

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office says Harms died of multiple blunt force injuries due to the snowboarding accident.  Duluth police are still investigating the death. 

 

The university says counseling and support services are being offered to the campus community. In a campus message released Tuesday,  Denise McDowell, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student LIfe said, “Losing a member of our community is a very difficult thing and I know Derek will be missed by many.” 

 

In a message posted on its website, Spirit Mountain staff call the fatal accident, “unfortunate” and ask for the public to keep Harms’ family and friends in prayers.  “We also continue to pray for our affected Ski Patrol and staff members as we all work towards gaining clarity of this tragedy,” the statement read.  

 

Harms’ funeral will be held in his hometown of Barrington, Illinois on Sunday.