LI Man Dies Snowboarding at Big Snow Inside NJ’s American Dream

A Long Island man fell backward while snowboarding at Big Snow inside the American Dream entertainment complex Thursday night.

State Police responded to the indoor ski area in the Meadowlands around 9:15 PM for the report of an unresponsive man who had been snowboarding, Trooper Charles Marchan told us. Sarah Mathews told Newsday her brother, Airman First Class Peter R. Mathews of the Maryland Air National Guard, fell backward and hit his head.

A friend administered CPR with first responders before he was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Sarah Mathews said.

Mathews, who lives in Bay Shore on Long Island in New York,  was a member of the 175th Wing of the Maryland Air National Guard.  He was working towards becoming a pilot like his father, according to U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Golabiewski, 175th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron senior enlisted leader.

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“Peter was genuinely an amazing person, and his smile lit up the room. If you had a chance to talk to him, you knew instantly he had a remarkable future and was destined for greatness,” Golabiewski said in a statement.

Sarah Matthews told Newsday her brother was with a group of friends who stopped at Big Snow to prepare for a weekend trip to Vermont.

"We can confirm that our ski patrol responded to a guest incident last Thursday evening. First aid was administered, and the guest was transported to a local hospital for further care. In the interest of the guest’s privacy, no additional information will be provided. Our thoughts are with this guest’s family at this time," a company spokesman said in a statement.

Big Snow is North America's only real-snow, indoor, year-round ski and snowboard resort with four lifts on four acres.