Steamboat Springs graduate dies in maritime accident in Virginia

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) – A vigil was held Friday in Steamboat Springs to remember the son of a high school principal.

He had graduated just over a month ago and died in Virginia on Thursday, probably from electrocution.

Jesse Hamric was a popular football and baseball player at Steamboat Springs High School and also a beloved friend.

“Ever since I met this boy, he’s just one of a kind,” said Alex Schwab, who has been friends with Hamric for over three years. “You see him and you think he always has a smile on his face.”

Passersby are shocked by the lake in Virginia

The accident occurred on the popular Smith Mountain Lake in Huddleston, Virginia, about an hour from Roanoke. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office said three people were gathered with family and friends at a private home with a dock on Lee Drive in Huddleston when the incident occurred.

Friends told police officers they saw Hamric in distress in the water, so they jumped in and immediately felt shock. They pulled Hamric out of the water and tried to resuscitate him, but he later died in hospital.

Investigators are waiting for the coroner’s report, but the cause of death is probably electrocution.

“I still can’t process it. It makes me so angry,” Schwab said.

Schwab said he could always count on Hamric to tear up mountains.

“He was truly an incredible snowboarder,” he said.

Schwab said he remembered them trying a trick that neither of them had done in at least a year.

“We were just preparing for it. You know, we just took the time to prepare and then he just did it … like out of nowhere. He didn’t even tell me, he landed it perfectly on the first try,” Schwab said.

Steamboat Springs High released a statement on its website in response to the tragedy.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of a Steamboat Springs High School graduate,” the statement said.

“Please take a moment to take care of yourself, get support from those around you, and care for one another. Our thoughts are with you all,” the statement later continued.

The school said mental health and crisis intervention professionals were available to help the community grieve “this incredible loss.”