Famed skydiver plummets to death after freak mid-air collision leaderpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from leaderpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Beloved skydiving instructor Carl Daugherty was identified Tuesday as the man who died after a hard landing in DeLand Sunday morning.
Since his death, several dozen tributes to the 76-year-old, who worked as a safety and training advisor at Skydive DeLand, have poured in online from across the country and even outside the United States. Thanks for giving me all the knowledge to defend myself up there, you always will be the best skydiving instructor, wrote Francisco Vega, of Ecuador. Blue skies Boss. RIP Genius.
Daugherty, a DeLand resident, and another skydiver collided mid-air Sunday morning at Skydive DeLand, according to the DeLand police report.
May 17, 2021 | 8:14 AM
DeLand, FL - Police in DeLand say a male is dead following a skydiving accident over the weekend. The DeLand Police Department says officers were called out to DeLand Municipal Airport—the base of operations for Skydive DeLand—on Sunday (May 16) after a male had landed hard in the parking lot and was found unresponsive. According to witness accounts, two parachutists collided mid-air with their parachutes open. One of them was able to regain control while the other was not able to get his parachute open. Bystanders attempted first aid on the injured skydiver, but to no avail. At this time, police are withholding the identity of the deceased until next-of-kin is notified. We will pass along updates as they come.
Ocala native and five-organ transplant recipient Hope Hill has faced many tough medical choices in her life.
But her decision to go skydiving on Dec. 4, the second anniversary of her life-saving transplant surgery, wasn t so tough. It gave her five minutes of total freedom. The jump itself meant so much more to me than an adrenaline fix. I picked this celebration because I knew that I would be totally clear minded even if it was for only five minutes. Those five minutes were priceless, Hill, 32, said.
Jennifer Wilson, Hill s friend for over 15 years, helped arrange the tandem jump, which was made at Skydive DeLand.