Williams College student killed in ski accident at Berkshires resort

A first-year Williams College student died Tuesday following a fatal ski accident the day before at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, Mass.

Alex Kemp suffered severe head trauma after going over an embankment while descending the mountain along Cutter Trail, according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s office.

Jiminy Peak Ski Patrol were dispatched immediately after 911 dispatchers received a call at approximately 2:39 p.m., the DA’s office said. Northern Berkshire EMS workers arrived shortly after and transported Kemp to Berkshire Medical Center. He was later transferred to Baystate Medical Center, where he died, according to the DA’s office.

Kemp was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. There is no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident, the DA’s office said.

The accident is the second fatal ski incident in New England in recent weeks. Jack Murray, a 12-year-old from Weymouth, was killed on Cranmore Mountain in New Hampshire on New Year’s Eve.

In a message from administrators, several people in the Williams community who knew Kemp made statements in his honor, including two of his professors and Dusty Lopez, his cross country coach. Lopez recruited Kemp from Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey to run cross country for Williams College.

“Alex had a self-assured, positive, kind way about him and it was consistent every day,” Lopez said. “This made him such a valuable member of our team, even in his first year — above and beyond his obvious gifts as an athlete.”

Kemp found successes in the classroom and on the cross country and track teams, the statement said.

“Alex concluded a moving application essay by saying, ‘Everyone needs someone to root for them and to remind them to always root for themselves,’” the statement said. “That was the spirit described by so many people who knew him.”

A public gathering will be held in the coming weeks to honor Kemp’s life, according to the message.

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