A top senior cadet, from the US Military Acadamy at West Point, NY has died after suffering fatal injuries in a skiing accident. Class of 2019 cadet Peter Zhu, 21, was involved in a ‘bad accident while skiing’ on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the West Point ski slope. West Point officials said he died Thursday, Feb. 28th, reports Fox News.
โThe entire West Point community is heartbroken over this tragedy,โ Brig. Gen. Steve Gillan, commandant of cadets said, according to Army Times. โPeter was one of the top cadets in the Class of 2019, very well-known and a friend to all. He embodied the ideals of the Corps of Cadets and its motto of Duty, Honor, Country and all who knew Peter will miss him.โ
Zhu, of Concord, Calif., was president of the Cadet Medical Society and was planning to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.ย Another skier found Zhu unresponsive and not breathing, officials said. He was flown to Westchester Medical Center.
Last Friday, Zhu’s parents obtained an order from a New York Supreme Court judge directing the hospital to conduct a sperm retrieval procedure before doctors took him off life support and removed his organs so that they could be donated to those in need. The parents sought to preserve their sonโs sperm in hopes of preserving the family name, in keeping with Chinese tradition, the Westchester Journal News reported.