Heidi Montag's Stepbrother Dies In Hotel Accident

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Reality TV,Deaths,TV,Music
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FIRST PUBLISHED: March 3, 2008 12:53 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: March 3, 2008 5:26 PM EST

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. --

Heidi Montag, star of MTV’s “The Hills,” has lost her stepbrother in a tragic accident, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Eric O’Hara, 24, died last Thursday while helping to clear snow from the roof of the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel, where he was working at the time.

According to the report by the Rocky Mountain News, while up on the snow-covered roof of the resort, O’Hara had just released a safety clip so he could move along a rope he was attached to for protection.

When a piece of ice broke loose, O’Hara slid down the sloped roof and fell over the edge.

“Losing my brother, at an early age is such a tragedy. I just loved him more than anything,” Heidi said in a statement to Access Hollywood.

O’Hara, whose mother Terri married Heidi’s father Bill, was just one month removed from completing his 15-month deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

"He was just so patriotic. He really wanted to go to Iraq and help and do all that he could for his country. He felt like it was his duty," Heidi added in her statement. "I'll really miss him."

Mike Lane, the public relations director for the resort, told Access Hollywood that O’Hara was five floors up when he fell.

“Everyone at the resort is truly saddened by the loss. Our condolences go out to the O’Hara family and our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time,” Lane told Access.

Lane also noted O’Hara was not an employee of the hotel, but rather a sub-contractor working at the resort.

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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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