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Bachelorette Tragedy: Boss Mike Fleiss on How Show Will Handle Death of Eric Hill

Bachelorette contestant Eric Hill passed away after a paragliding accident

By Chris Harnick Apr 24, 2014 2:04 PMTags
Eric Hillgowitheric.com

Tragedy hit close to home when Bachelorette contestant Eric Hill died after a paragliding accident. Hill competed as a contestant on The Bachelorette season that is currently filming.

"We're all just devastated. He was such a vibrant, young dude. He was. It's tragic," Bachelorette creator Mike Fleiss told E! News at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of his documentary The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir. "He was such a young guy who lived life to the fullest. I couldn't believe it when I heard. I'm still in shock. We're all in shock. This transcends everything, certainly a television show."

This season of The Bachelorette follows Andi Dorfman and her search for love. Fleiss described Dorfman as "great," "smart," and "articulate." "[She's] sincerely looking for love," he said. "I'd bet a lot of money that she finds her man."

Sources told E! News Hill was already eliminated from the series at the time of his death.

"We're going to try to be as sensitive as possible," Fleiss said. "It's a bizarre predicament that we never expected to be in, but our problems aren't important. It's about his family now. My heart goes out to them. I pray for them and my staff, they're just wrecked."

Hill passed away Wednesday following a paragliding accident on Sunday when his parachute partially collapsed. Hill launched The Global Odyssey, also known as GO with Eric, in 2013. His goal was to visit all 195 United Nations-recognized countries in record time. The official Facebook page is now asking fans to use #LiveWithEric as a means to honor Hill.

"Eric shared his final journey with us this morning as all his immediate family were able to be at his side when he passed away," Hill's sister, Karen Tracy, wrote on Facebook. "Thank you to all of your love and support and prayers and fasting. It was amazing to be with so many of his friends and family yesterday in the hospital who came to express their love for Eric. He gave us such a gift of a life fully lived and fully shared, and allowed us all to be a part of his last adventure here on earth. It is hard to think of life without his bright spark, but we know he is on to new adventures. We look forward to carrying on his legacy here and greeting him joyfully again someday. I love you so much, little brother!"

—Reporting by Beth Sobol