Erik Gates, Mythbusters Regular, Dead at 47

Erik Gates/ Mythbusters

Erik Gates, a regular on the show Mythbusters, was killed in a freak accident on December  20th after falling 30-feet to his death.

Gates was walking on the roof of a building when he accidentally fell through a skylight. He was conscious and talking just after the accident, but died later at the hospital of blunt chest injuries. Gates owned the company, Gateco Electric, and was working on-site when the accident happened. The building he was working on was owned by his brother, Dirk Gates, president and CEO of Xirrus, Inc. Erik and Dirk ran the web site, Gates Brothers Rocketry. Sadly, it seems the site has since been taken down.

Xirrus Inc,’s Chief Financial Officer, Steve DeGennaro commented on Gates’ untimely death saying, “He was a good guy. He survived cancer, he jumps with parachutes, he base jumps. He’s an active guy who was used to taking precautions. This was a freak accident that shouldn’t have happened.”

Erik Gates leaves behind a wife and three children.

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