JamesG
12-29-2009, 12:08 PM
Erik Gates Dead at 47
December 29, 2009 | By: Rebecca Paiement
Erik Gates, the 47-year-old rocket expert who appeared on Discovery Channel's MythBusters died Sunday in a freak accident.
Gather reports that Gates fell 30 feet to his death through a rooftop skylight on which he and a colleague were working. Gates suffered blunt force chest injuries, but was still talking after the fall, according to the report.
He died later at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Gates owned Gateco Electric and he and the company's CFO appeared as amateur experts, alongside special effects gurus Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.
On the show, myths, rumors and other pop cultural phemon are put to the test, such as whether a banana peel can actually make a person slip. Team experiments are then labeled as "busted," "plausible" or "confirmed."
The show has since expressed its condolences on Twitter.
"Team MB wishes to express our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved rocket expert, Erik," the show wrote.
"You were an honorary MythBuster and will be sorely missed."
www.twitter.com/MythBusters
http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/12/29/erik-gates-dead-at-47/
December 29, 2009 | By: Rebecca Paiement
Erik Gates, the 47-year-old rocket expert who appeared on Discovery Channel's MythBusters died Sunday in a freak accident.
Gather reports that Gates fell 30 feet to his death through a rooftop skylight on which he and a colleague were working. Gates suffered blunt force chest injuries, but was still talking after the fall, according to the report.
He died later at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Gates owned Gateco Electric and he and the company's CFO appeared as amateur experts, alongside special effects gurus Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.
On the show, myths, rumors and other pop cultural phemon are put to the test, such as whether a banana peel can actually make a person slip. Team experiments are then labeled as "busted," "plausible" or "confirmed."
The show has since expressed its condolences on Twitter.
"Team MB wishes to express our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved rocket expert, Erik," the show wrote.
"You were an honorary MythBuster and will be sorely missed."
www.twitter.com/MythBusters
http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/12/29/erik-gates-dead-at-47/