Last Wednesday, former Olympic skier Jeremy Nobis was pronounced dead in his Iron County, Utah jail cell where he was awaiting sentencing on a DUI charge, the St. George News reported. He was 52 years old.
According to a statement issued by the Critical Incident Task Force for Iron, Garfield, and Beaver Counties, staff from Iron County Jail found Nobis lying unresponsive in his cell and attempted life-saving efforts to revive him before pronouncing him dead. While the task force is investigating his death, foul play is not suspected, the statement said.
Nobis was initially arrested for a DUI in March 2019, after a rollover crash on Interstate 15. His blood alcohol level was more than eight times Utah’s legal limit. Nobis was released three days later.
Then in August 2021, an arrest warrant was issued after Nobis failed to appear for a videoconference on the case. He was taken into custody on February 11, 2023.
He appeared in 5th District Court on March 7 where he pleaded guilty to one count of DUI, a third-degree felony, and was remanded to Iron County jail until his sentencing, which was scheduled for Tuesday, April 25.
In January, Ski Magazine reported that the former Olympic skier had faced or was facing similar drunk driving charges in several other states, including Wyoming, Colorado, and Idaho.
In 2006, Nobis made headlines after he was involved in a police pursuit that ended when he crashed his vehicle into a tree.
The 52-year-old Nobis competed with the US Team in the 1994 Winter Olympics, finishing in ninth place in the giant slalom event.
In the late 1980s, Nobis made the US Alpine Ski Team where he won two World Junior Championships. He also competed in the FIS Alpine World Cup circuit from 1986 until he retired in 1996.
