Cheshire man, 20, dies at Killington

New Haven Register

CHESHIRE — A 2008 graduate of Cheshire High School died on Christmas Eve in a snowboarding accident at Killington Resort in Vermont.

Alex Westphal, 20, suffered massive internal injuries when he collided with an immovable object, probably a pole or tree, according to his father, Ryan Westphal.

Ryan, wife Ann and Alex Westphal had traveled to Vermont Wednesday morning for a Christmas vacation. They had many fond memories of a ski vacation 15 years earlier that they wanted to re-create, Ryan said. Alex Westphal’s parents brought him to Killington, then left to check into the hotel and go cross-country skiing while Alex snowboarded.

At 11:44 a.m., on his first or second run of the day, Alex Westphal sent his parents a photo he took with his cell phone from the top of the mountain.

“We’re a family that has a lot of contact. It was his way of having us share in that moment at the top of the mountain,” Ryan Westphal said Sunday. “Being up there, being out in nature, he was just incredibly happy.”

At 12:01 p.m., a volunteer ski patrolman found Alex Westphal and started CPR. Ryan Westphal said the CPR continued for about 40 minutes as his son was taken to the hospital, but Alex had died on the mountain.

State troopers found Ryan and Ann Westphal, who were cross-country skiing, and told them what had happened. The reality of the situation didn’t sink in until they went to the hospital and saw their son, said Ryan Westphal. On Christmas day, the couple went to the site of the accident to piece together what had transpired. Ryan Westphal believed it happened quickly, and nothing could have been done to save Alex.

After returning to Cheshire, the Westphals were contacted by one of Alex’s college fraternity brothers. Word of Alex’s accident was spreading, and a Facebook page dedicated to his memory had been created. By late Sunday, nearly 650 people had joined.

“It’s really mind-blowing. People from all different aspects of his life ... are chiming in and saying something nice about him,” said Ryan Westphal. “It’s really helpful in a really difficult time to know that so many people felt that his life mattered.”

Alex Westphal’s funeral will be held this week in Iowa, but his parents are planning a memorial service in Connecticut in the near future. Ryan Westphal said they had initially planned to have a few of his close friends attend, but they’ve been “just blown away” by the “outpouring of people expressing their feelings for him.”

Alex Westphal was in his sophomore year at Hofstra University, but planned to transfer to the SAE Institute in New York City in January to pursue an audio technology degree. Alex’s father said he’d been majoring in business at Hofstra, but his true passion was music.

Alex Westphal was born in South Dakota, and his family moved around to Nashville, Tenn., and Portland, Ore.. before settling in Cheshire in 2000, said Ryan Westphal.

At Cheshire High School, Alex Westphal played basketball, baseball and football, according to his father. His baseball coach, Bill Mrowka, remembered him as very athletic and easy-going. Alex Westphal didn’t let things bother him, but “just kind of rolled with it,” Mrowka said.

Alex Westphal joined the football team senior year.

“He was a great kid,” said Mark Ecke, football coach and a school resource officer at the high school. “A pretty talented athlete, but bigger than that. He came out, he got injured for us, then he stuck with it. He was just a great kid — great kid to be around, positive attitude, always had a smile on his face.”

Ryan Westphal said his son also loved animals, and fostered more than 250 kittens and puppies. Alex Westphal loved music, and would DJ and make his own music. He also did modeling in New York City, and appeared in a photo shoot in Cosmopolitan magazine.