Man killed by snow removal machine identified

EUGENE, Ore. – A man who was struck and killed by a snow removal machine at Mount Bachelor has been identified as an 18-year-old from Myrtle Creek.

Cameron Joseph Sharp had camped out overnight in a sleeping bag placed in the parking lot of the resort outside of Bend when a worker clearing the lot of snow struck him at about 4 a.m. Friday, Deschutes County authorities said.

Sharp, a 2005 graduate of South Umpqua High School, had gone to Mount Bachelor the day before with a group of students from Lane Community College in Eugene, said his older brother, Jason Posey.

Sharp and his friends had spent Thursday snowboarding. The other students returned home that night, but Sharp remained to take advantage of the resort's annual free skiing day on Friday.

"He was up there doing something he loved. He was an avid snowboarder," said Posey, who lives in Eugene.

Posey said it took authorities some to time to identify Sharp because his brother had recently lost his wallet and did not have any identification with him.

Sharp attended Lane Community College in the fall term, his brother said. Over the winter, he was working as a cook at a Eugene restaurant, he said.