Nathan Rom, Scott Elligott, R.I.P.: Two More Deaths on Colorado Ski Slopes

Earlier this ski season, we noted the relatively low number of fatal accidents at Colorado resorts.

It's not feeling that way now.

Thus far in this space, we've told you about the January deaths of Logan Salviano at Vail and Jason Taylor at Keystone, as well as the passing of Tennessee luxury hotelier Sam Beall, who perished after a crash late last month at Beaver Creek, and Pennsylvania's Chris Dutko, who died at Breckenridge — and for whom a memorial ride is taking place today.

Now, unfortunately, we add not one but two additional people to this sad roster following separate incidents on the same day — and practically the same time.

On Wednesday, March 9, Scott Elligott, 49, of Colorado Springs was killed in a crash at Telluride, and Arlington, Virginia's Nathan Rom, nineteen, died at Copper Mountain.

Elligott's Facebook page lists his employer as the Air Force.

A memorial Facebook post lists him as having graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988.

According to the San Miguel Sheriff's Office, Elligott was skiing at Telluride with his twenty-year-old daughter at around 11 a.m. when the accident took place.

She told investigators that she'd been skiing ahead of her dad, and when she looked back, she saw him lose control.

"The area is steep and wooded and it took some time for her to locate him," a sheriff's office release notes. Ski patrol representatives raced to the scene, but they were unable to revive him.

San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters is quoted as saying, “This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the family,."

Rom, for his part, is known on his Facebook page as Nathan "Kitt" Rom — and he was an extraordinarily bright young man.

A 2013 item on the website of Arlington's Bishop O'Connell High School notes that Rom, then a junior, had scored a perfect 2400 on his SATs.

The Summit County Daily reports that Rom was skiing at Copper Mountain with his family over spring break.

But on Wednesday morning, he hit a tree — and even though he was wearing a helmet, the impact proved fatal.

Ski Patrol personnel rushed him to the Copper Mountain Clinic, where he was pronounced dead at a time eerily close to Elligott elsewhere in Colorado.

The Summit County Coroner's Office received the call at around 11:30 a.m., the Daily points out.

We offer our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Nathan Rom and Scott Elligott.