Who was Peter Mathews? NY Air National Guard, 24, dies in fall while snowboarding on indoor slope at NJ mall
BERGEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY: An Air National Guard from Long Island died after a snowboarding accident at a mall in New Jersey on December 8. Peter Mathews who had served for the last two years in the Maryland Air National Guard was fatally injured while snowboarding at Big Snow, an indoor slope at the American Dream mall and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In the tragic accident last Thursday, the crew chief died when he tumbled backward during snowboarding and hit his head. The incident took place when Peter was with his family. His sister, Sarah Mathews, who is a registered nurse, told Newsday that she tried saving Peter on the slopes. He was then rushed to the Hackensack University Medical Center but was pronounced dead later that day, as per the Newsday report.
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The facility features a 1,000-foot indoor slope, according to Fox 5. Measuring 180,000 square feet, the ski slope includes a beginner's area. With a 160-foot vertical drop, the slope is 16 stories high and per hour, it makes more than 4 tons of snow.
In a statement, a representative of the ski and snowboard facility said that the ski patrol responded to a "guest incident" on the slope. "First aid was administered, and the guest was transported to a local hospital for further care. Our thoughts are with this guest's family at this time," said the representative.
In a military-led ceremony, Peter's burial will be held on December 19 at Calverton National Cemetery in Riverhead, Suffolk County.
Who was Peter Mathews?
Peter, 24, worked as crew chief with the 175th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. A traditional guardsman, Peter served in the Maryland Air National Guard since 2020. Earlier this year, the 24-year-old airman was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal for an exercise in which he “mobilized with his squadron and A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 104th Fighter Squadron to support two US Army Europe-led exercises in Eastern Europe, Swift Response and Defender Europe 22,” read a post from the Maryland Air Force base.
In the post, Sgt. Jeffrey Golebiewski, the US Air Force Chief Master said, “Peter was genuinely an amazing person, and his smile lit up the room. If you had a chance to talk to him, you knew instantly he had a remarkable future and was destined for greatness. He was in the process of following in his father’s footsteps to become a pilot. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and anyone who knew Peter.”
The airman's father told the news outlet that after his serving, his son wanted to be a commercial pilot and he also had a liking for robotics.