A 28-year old female skydiver was pronounced dead at the scene after she hit a semi-truck trailer and crash-landed on Highway 99 in Lodi, CA just highway outside the Lodi Airport at 2pm on Thursday.
She was skydiving with a group of 7 at the time of the incident, according to California Highway Patrol PIO Ruben Jones.
This was the 17th skydiving death at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center since 1999.
Conditions were windy at the time of the accident causing the woman to crash into the semi-truck during the skydiving group’s descent near the Lodi Airport, where they had taken off from, Jones added.
“At approximately 1400 hours, a 28 year old female was parachuting within a group. As she was descending, she collided with the rear of a big rig trailer. After colliding with the trailer, the parachutists collided with the right hand shoulder of southbound SR-99 south of Jahant Rd. The party was ultimately pronounced deceased on scene.” – California Highway Patrol, 9/26/19
CHP is investigating the incident.
“The way the person was struggling, just struggling against the wind and their body was just moving really, really fast,” eye-witness Lisa Reyes told KCRA.
- Related: Another Fatality at Troubled Lodi Parachute Center, CA as Woman’s Parachute Failed to Open
The Skydive Lodi Parachute Center is a hotspot for skydivers and BASE jumpers in the local area.
Many Lake Tahoe BASE and Ski-BASE jumpers have performed huge amounts of their training here including Shane McConkey & JT Holmes.
Famous Lake Tahoe freeskier Timy Dutton died at Skydive Lodi Parachute Center in 2014 and former Squaw Valley CEO Andy Wirth was severely injured here and nearly lost his arm at the Lodi Parachute Center in 2013.
Thursday’s death is the latest in a series of fatalities at the Lodi Parachute Center. From 1999 to 2018, 16 people died jumping from planes that took off from the parachute center. The most recent death before Thursday was on Oct. 14, 2018, when a woman’s parachute failed to open during a jump.
How is Lodi jump center still in business ?