A paralyzed former police officer who advocated for wheelchair users has died after accidentally driving his ATV off an Idaho cliff and plunging 500 feet . Tom McTevia , 42 , who was left without the use of his legs following another ATV accident 11 years ago , was traveling with a group and driving his friend Tina Hoisington , 45 , near an overlook at Lake Pend Oreille in Bonner County on Sunday . When the group stopped for a photograph around noon , McTevia 's ATV got too close to the edge of the 2,000-foot cliff and went over , witnesses told Selkirk Fire Rescue , the CDA Press reported . A firefighter reached the first victim 's body after rappelling down 500 feet of rock , and the second victim was found 1,100 feet below the edge , Fire Rescue said . A helicopter recovered their bodies . Loss : 42-year-old Tom McTevia , pictured on a trail he campaigned to make accessible for wheelchairs , has died after accidentally plunging over the edge of an Idaho overlook while on his ATV . Victim : His passenger and best friend , Tina Hoisington , pictured , also died in the accident on Sunday . The news has stunned the community of Coeur d'Alene , where McTevia had long campaigned for wheelchair users to get better access to outdoor activities . McTevia , a Navy veteran and father-of-one , had been left paralyzed in another ATV accident in 2004 , when he was an Orofino police officer . He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him without the use of his legs and with limited use of his arms and hands , and he was forced to leave the police department , the Spokesman Review reported . Despite his physical challenges , he continued to live an active lifestyle and enjoyed kayaking , hunting , skydiving and cycling by operating the bike with his hands . He moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2006 and volunteered at the records department of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department . Crash : A fire rescue image shows the damaged ATV after the fall . Both victims fell out of the vehicle . Scene : They were at this scene overlook at at Lake Pend Oreille in Bonner County when they fell . In 2009 , he took part in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Spokane . Most recently , he pushed for the city to make a section of a 1,500-foot trail at Tubbs Hill accessible to wheelchair users by making the incline gentler . 'He just absolutely felt so passionate about that project , ' Orofino Mayor Ryan Smathers told the CDA Press . 'He missed being able to walk in the outdoors , so he at least wanted to still experience the outdoors . ' In February , he spoke to Live Well Cda magazine about his outlook on life . ' I do n't like the word `` handicap '' , ' he said . ' I do n't like the word `` disability '' . Disability is a state of mind , or it 's a broken-down vehicle on the side of the road . Active : McTevia was left paralyzed by another ATV accident in 2004 but continued to stay active . Hobbies : He continued to go kayaking , hunting and skydiving despite his physical challenges . ' I 'm minorly inconvenienced . Every person on this planet has an inconvenience , and it is all in how you approach it . ' McTevia leaves behind one son , who lives in California and graduated high school last year . Friends told KREM that McTevia and Hoisington , from Lewiston , Idaho , were best friends who went on dozens of outdoor trips together . She had worked at the Lewis Clark Credit Union as a loan officer for 15 years . 'Our hearts are breaking , ' CEO Trisha Baker said in a statement released on Monday . 'Tina touched so many lives… We will miss her laugh and her awesome sense of humor . '
Tom McTevia , 42 , and his passenger and best friend , Tina Hoisington , 45 , died after their ATV plunged from an Idaho overlook on Sunday . Witnesses said they got too close to the edge while posing for a photo . McTevia was left paralyzed in another ATV accident 11 years earlier . But the former cop and Navy veteran continued to stay active and advocated for better trails for people in wheelchairs .