Support has poured in for long-time Park City Mountain snowboard instructor Martin Drayton since a skier struck him on the Canyons side in a hit-and-flee that left him hospitalized, his season over.

The collision Feb. 28 happened at the intersection of the Mainline and Alleycat runs, and he recalled that he was hit by a “tallish woman in a white one-piece with pink sides” around 1:15 p.m. The woman has not turned up ever since.

The diagnosis? A non-traumatic compression fracture to the thoracic spine and a compression fracture of the T8 vertebra. 

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“That’s the end of my winter season, plus no flying (as a flight attendant) for several weeks. I’m now out of 2 jobs,” Drayton said.

Just days before the accident, Park City Mountain posted an introductory video of Drayton on Instagram celebrating his 23rd season of teaching on the mountain.

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“Snowboarding literally changed my life,” he said in the video. “I just feel by passing on my love of the sport and teaching more people, I can do that for other people.”

He said that beyond the sport, it’s the people that keep him returning to instruct on the mountain.

“We have a vibrant community here that’s very supportive, it really transcends just teaching the sport,” he said.

After news spread of Drayton’s accident, supporters rallied to help him and his family financially.

A GoFundMe was set up, organized by a former snowboard student of Drayton’s who wrote anonymously, “Hi Neighbors. We are looking to raise at least 20K to help Martin Drayton recover lost income from a tragic hit-and-run injury in the Canyons.”

Support came pouring in, and in just a few days they had raised enough to end the campaign.

“As a community, we were able to raise over fifteen thousand dollars in just four days! This is nothing short of a miracle,” the organizer wrote. “Your contributions have successfully put Martin and his family in a secure financial position while he recovers from his injuries and can return to work.”

Drayton wrote he was blown away by the generosity.

“I have been deeply touched by the outpouring of support and love from the community. I’m so happy that I live where I do. Your support means more than you realize and we as a family are very grateful,” he wrote.

He also used the platform to speak more on what this accident signals to him as a long-time winter sports enthusiast.

“After 38 seasons teaching all over the world it saddens me to see where we are at now, where people either disregard the Responsibility Code or don’t even know that it exists. I don’t know what can be done but something has to happen soon,” he said.

The Your Responsibility Code is a set of rules for safely skiing and riding on the mountain created by the National Ski Area Association, a trade association for ski areas that represents over 300 resorts, including Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort. 

At Park City Mountain, the Mountain Safety team led by Eric Cambria and marked by mustard-yellow jackets, aims to educate skiers on the code through signage and one-on-one conversations. 

Ultimately, though, it’s on the individual to comply.

Drayton’s family still hopes for the chance to hold the skier accountable.

“It seems unlikely that the person responsible for this will be found, but I hope she gets to hear of what she did to me and the effect that it has had to my life,” said Drayton.