The Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine lost an intern in a skiing accident this past Friday, Feb. 25.
Heather Donahue, age 29, died while skiing at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming.
According to witnesses who talked to the Boston Globe, Donahue stopped on the slope to wait for her husband when a 16-year-old snowboarder lost control and slammed into her.
Donahue sustained massive injuries to her head and immediately lost consciousness on Thursday afternoon. She was airlifted to a hospital near the mountain and died the next afternoon from those injuries, according to the Lowell Sun.
The snowboarder who hit Donahue, a Maryland teen whose name has not yet been released to authorities, now faces manslaughter charges and authorities are considering attempting to charge him as an adult for his actions. He could receive a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for his actions, according to the Boston Globe.
"[Heather] has brought a sense of caring, humility and love for family and life to the community," Philip Kosch, Dean of the Tufts Veterinary School, said in a statement released Monday, Feb. 28.
Donahue lived in Shrewsbury, Mass. and graduated from Chelmsford High School in 1993.
Donahue attended Colgate University in Hamilton, NY for her undergraduate education, and then Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for graduate school.
Donahue moved from Colorado to Grafton, Mass. for an internship in Emergency Medicine at the Vet School in July 2004, and has worked there since, according to Kosch.
Donahue worked in many different aspects of veterinary medicine in her short career, including both small and large animals, wildlife, and leadership roles in veterinary organizations.
"One night, a puppy came in with a broken leg and was going to need expensive surgery," Matthew Eyles, a fourth-year student at the Vet School who worked with Donahue on an emergency shift, said. "The clients wanted to take the puppy home so they could shop for a less expensive surgical option ... but they didn't want to pay for pain medication. Heather really went to bat for this animal ... Heather was not a shy advocate for her patient's welfare."
"She was beginning her life," Nancy Donahue, Donahue's mother, told the Globe in an interview.
A remembrance ceremony for Donahue will take place in Meredith, NH this Saturday.
"It is painful for us to lose such a promising young veterinarian and fine person in our midst," said Kosch in his press release. "We all have Heather and her family in our hearts, thoughts and prayers."
