Rob Redmond: Learn more about Virginia man who became ski season's fifth official casualty

Update: Rob Redmond died doing something he loved.

As we've reported, Redmond died early yesterday morning from injuries sustained while skiing at Breckenridge on Sunday, becoming the fifth official casualty at a Colorado resort this season; see our previous coverage below. Now, we've learned more about a man who loved to hit the slopes.

Redmond, 45, lived in Reston, Virginia, and worked as a real estate agent. But he had a lot more in his life than work. His Twitter account, which he never got around to using, describes him like so: "Realtor extraordinaire with Century 21 New Millennium, DC sports fan, ski fanatic, and music lover."

Skiing is also emphasized on Redmond's Facebook page. Indeed, the handful of photos featured on his page include one from Breckenridge, posted a year ago Sunday. Here it is: Also shared on the page are messages of affection shared after people began learning of his health crisis. Here's a sampling:

Huge prayers going to you Rob!

Prayers ascending often!

hugs and positive energy sprinkled with HUGE prayers......

The thing about it is you could not see him for years, bump into him at Costco or wherever and fall right into a conversation like it was nothing. I hope to bump into him real soon.

Redmond died after crashing into a tree; he was wearing a helmet. Our sincere condolences to his loved ones.

Update two: Shortly after posting the information above, we received a note from Dr. Erin Redmond Webb, Rob's sister, who is obviously still reeling from the unexpected loss of her brother. She writes the following:

Rob has left behind myself (younger sister, age 32), Jackie Overton (older sister, age 47), Mary Rose (mother), Patricia Redmond (step mother), and seven nieces and nephews who loved him dearly.

He has gone to join our dad, Robert A. Redmond, who died in 2007 from cancer due to Agent Orange Exposure in Vietnam, and our other sister, Susan Redmond Kilby, who died tragically in 2004.

We know Rob is in good company and better off now then we are....

Continue to see our previous coverage. Original post, 11:45 a.m. February 13: Less than a week after U.S. Air Force member Arthur Glaz died at Keystone, another person has lost his life at a Colorado ski area. Robert Redmond, a 45 year old from Virginia, passed away as a result of injuries sustained at Breckenridge on Sunday. He's officially the fifth person to die skiing at a Colorado resort so far this season.

The news comes to us from the Summit County coroner's office, which was contacted about the accident at around 8 a.m. today by officials in Jefferson County during what's called a "transfer of jurisdiction." Redmond was skiing on the Columbia trail at Breck this past Sunday when he crashed into a tree.

Here's a look at Columbia via a screen capture from one of the videos below.

Redmond was wearing a helmet at the time, but he was so badly injured that he was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood for treatment. Nonetheless, he died at just past 4 a.m. this morning. According to the coroner's office, his manner of death has been determined to have been accidental.

It appears that Redmond's crash was in-bounds at Breckenridge, which means his death should fall under the criteria established by Colorado Ski Country USA. As we've reported, the organization only includes an individual in overall death statistics if he or she perished in public portions of a state ski area. That's why the deaths of ski patrol member Patsy Hileman and outdoor enthusiast James Lindenblatt aren't part of the current roster. Hileman died while skiing out of bounds, while Lindenblatt wasn't at a ski area at all; rather, he was skiing in the backcountry and was swept under by an avalanche.

Similarly, Kansas' Stuart Brownlee has also been excluded from the list because even though he was in-bounds at Copper Mountain when he died earlier this year, he appears to have succumbed to a medical condition (perhaps a heart attack), and not a crash. And while Caleb Moore died at an Aspen resort, he perished as a result of injuries sustained while taking part in the ESPN X-Games snowmobile competition.

Including Moore, at least nine people have died on Colorado slopes thus far in the 2012-2013 ski season, but only five will be registered on the official count: Glaz, Natalie Egleston, a Philadelphia executive who died on February 4 after a collision at Aspen Mountain (she was standing still when another skier struck her), plus Tristan Bartlett, thirteen, who died at Copper Mountain on January 4, and Doae Oh, twenty, killed in a January 9 accident, also at Keystone. The latter pair hit trees. Neither Bartlett nor Oh were wearing helmets, but Egleston, Glaz and Redmond were.

Our hearts go out to Redmond's friends, family and loved ones. Look below to see videos of Breckenridge's Columbia trail.

More from our News archive: "Arthur Glaz, Air Force lieutenant, killed at Keystone; fourth resort death this season."