The mother of a man who died following a severe ski accident is desperately turning to social media, specifically TikTok, in a plea for anyone who might have video or photos from the day of the incident. Tonette Romero needs the internet’s help finding footage that could offer clarity on the fall that killed her 32-year-old son, Donovan Romero, at Colorado’s Keystone ski area.
Donovan was riding the Ruby Express chairlift on December 11, 2024, when he fell approximately 47 feet. Though he was wearing a helmet, the fall resulted in a devastating head injury and multiple physical injuries, according to a GoFundMe set up by the family. Sadly, Donovan passed away months later on May 2, 2025, due to these sustained injuries.
This is truly awful for Tonette and her family, especially since she believes the Keystone ski area hasn’t been cooperative in providing information about the accident. Initial reports from an investigation indicated the chairlift was functioning properly when Donovan fell. The tramway safety board determined that the incident didn’t appear to be caused by any lift malfunction, stating that further investigation wasn’t warranted at that time.
The incident has really sparked a major discussion online about the importance of ski lift safety bars
She explained in her TikTok video that the resort has refused to give her accident reports and won’t even take her phone calls. She doesn’t have a clear picture of what happened. What specifically spurred Tonette’s renewed search was seeing a video on social media of someone being medevaced out of a different ski hill. That video made her realize that if a helicopter was involved in her son’s rescue, other people on the mountain that day might have inadvertently captured footage of the event or its aftermath.
Tonette says she understands why people might not have shared footage around the time of the accident, but she now needs to see it. She emphasized that after seeing her son at his absolute worst in the hospital after brain surgery, nothing she sees in a video is going to “freak me out.” If you don’t have footage of the helicopter, she still encourages people to look for general footage of the hill as it would bring her some much-needed “peace and healing.”
Witnesses to Donovan’s fall alleged that he and the other riders did not lower the safety bar before the fall. The Romero family released a powerful statement asking why safety measures aren’t mandatory. They pointed out that chairlifts are generally very safe, unlike stunts on motorbikes, with only 35 fatalities reported at U.S. ski areas since 1956.
However, a safety measure is only effective if people actually use it. They wrote, “We must ask: why is this optional? Why aren’t ski resorts required to ensure that riders use the safety bar, especially when it’s installed for a reason?” They are calling for consistent, enforceable rules requiring safety bar use across all ski areas.
Hopefully, this widespread appeal helps Tonette find the footage she needs. Despite all the wrong things with social media these days, it’s truly a testament to its power when it comes to finding information that companies might be unwilling to share.
Published: Jan 21, 2026 03:00 pm