STURTEVANT, Wis. — A skydiver practicing for national competition has died after crashing into a pond in Racine County, sheriff’s officials said.
The 36-year-old man from Tennessee experienced a hard landing in the water next to the Skydive Midwest skydiving center near Sturtevant Sunday, according to officials.
The sheriff’s office said the man was not conscious when he was pulled from the pond by other skydivers. Deputies and members of the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire & Rescue attempted life-saving measures, but the man never regained consciousness.
Officials said the man was a professional practicing for the U.S. Parachute Association National Championships set to begin Sept. 3 at the skydiving center.
“It appears the victim was descending at the wrong angle for the practice run, resulting in the pond landing,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Fellow skydivers who also witnessed the event in its entirety stated his parachute was deployed and he showed no signs of distress before, during, or immediately before landing. The other professional skydivers that witnessed the event believe he misjudged his angle of decent which caused a ‘hard landing’ into the water.”
The investigation is ongoing. The victim has not been identified and his hometown was not released.
Sunday’s fatal crash was the second serious accident in less than three months for Skydive Midwest. In June, two women suffered life-threatening injuries while tandem skydiving at the facility.