Heidi Montag’s stepbrother, Eric O’Hara, died last Thursday in a horrible accident while working at a Colorado hotel. Eric, who had just returned a month ago from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 82nd Airborne Division, was cleaning snow off the roof of the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel when he fell to his death.

The 24-year-old had just undone his safety clip to move along the roof when the ice he was standing on shattered, Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg told the Rocky Mountain News. Eric slid down the sloped roof and fell over the edge, holding the safety rope, but he was knocked off the rope by falling snow.

Heidi’s father, Bill, married Eric’s mother, Terri (they were not the parents Heidi and Spencer went to visit on The Hills � that was her mother, Darlene, and stepfather, Tim).

Eric joined the military because he was devastated by the events of September 11, 2001, his grandmother, Dolores Spurgeon, told the paper. When he saw the towers tumble down, “it just gnawed at him,” she said. “He decided, ‘I need to go to defend my country.’ ”

Eric’s uncle, Dave Patston, added: “Having made it through 15 months in Iraq, and then to have this happen� it’s really tough.”

Photo Source: Exposay.com�

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