Man killed at Red River Gorge was top Kroger manager

Family, friends and Kroger colleagues are mourning the death of Jason M. Lazor, the 36-year-old man who fell more than 200 feet from a cliff at Red River Gorge over the weekend.

Lazor, who was anticipating the birth of his first child, died of blunt force trauma after falling from Chimney Top Rock, said Wolfe County Deputy Coroner Gary Sparks.

Chimney Top Rock is one of the highest and most scenic overlooks in the gorge, but has claimed the lives of many people through the years.

Lazor worked at Kroger for several years and held the position of senior marketing manager for the company's south region, according to a Kroger spokesman.

Originally from Cortland, Ohio, a small city east of Cleveland, Lazor had been camping with a group of roughly 20 to 25 friends when he and a few others decided to walk half a mile to Chimney Top just after midnight on Saturday, said John May, a training officer with Wolfe County Search and Rescue.

The group had been to the gorge many times before, May said.

There was evidence of alcohol consumption at camp, May said, but he could not confirm whether Lazor had been intoxicated. Lazor's friends said that he climbed over a railing and disappeared, slipping between a 5-foot crack.

The top of the cliff is separated from an adjoining vertical spire. There is evidence that Lazor grabbed onto a pine tree, May said, but couldn't hold on.

Crews from Wolfe, Powell and Menifee County assisted in the operation that took more than five hours. During that time, members of the crew rappelled into the space to try to rescue Lazor.

"The entire Kroger family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Jason Lazor," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's corporate communications director. "He was a well-respected colleague and a friend to countless associates. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jason's family, friends and colleagues."

Every year, one or two people die in Red River Gorge, May said.

An in-depth report by The Enquirer in 2008 showed that at least 17 of the roughly 75 reported deaths in the gorge had occurred at Chimney Top Rock.

Deaths generally occur there when people climb over the railing, jump across a 70-foot-deep chasm and fall when they attempt to jump uphill to get back to the nearest rock, and back over the railing, Tim Eling, Red River Gorge manager for the U.S. Forest Service has said.

Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.

An earlier version of this story said Lazor had a child and was recently married. That was inaccurate information provided by an official. New information reveals that his wife of several years is currently pregnant with the victim's first child.