Skydiver Killed at Embattled Lodi Parachute Center After Landing on Nearby Highway
A 28-year-old woman skydiving from the Lodi Parachute Center was killed on Thursday after landing on a nearby highway and being struck by a truck. Witnesses claim the woman fell from the sky onto East Jahant Road around 2:15 pm and either landed on the truck or was struck by it in some way.
Authorities have not released the identity of the skydiver. The incident forced a closure of the roadway on Thursday afternoon.
#BREAKING: CHP is on the scene of a fatal accident on the 99 freeway near Jahant road. Officers responded to a call of a parachute landing in the road. CHP says some witnesses say a man on a parachute landed on a truck, others say it was hit by a truck. SB 99 lanes closed @FOX40 pic.twitter.com/JUqrAuInu0
— Bridgette Bjorlo (@bridgettebjorlo) September 26, 2019
The skydiver was from Colombia and jumping with seven other people. It is believed that windy conditions blew her off course, eventually causing the collision with the big rig. The area was reportedly experiencing “very windy” conditions:
Very windy here at the scene where a parachuter ended up in the middle of the 99 freeway near Jahant Road in Lodi. CHP confirms with @FOX40 that the man on the parachute died. pic.twitter.com/qoIAxOKQEE
— Bridgette Bjorlo (@bridgettebjorlo) September 26, 2019
The death becomes the 20th at the Lodi Parachute Center since it opened in the early 1980’s and another incident at an already infamous skydiving center in Northern California.
In 2016, 20 instructors at the skydiving facility were suspended and 120 more were deemed to need more training by the U.S. Parachute Association. In 2018, agents raided the facility and seized records amidst a federal investigation.
The organization has been accused of lax training and has seen 17 deaths since 2000, and 5 skydivers who have learned to skydive at the school have died in the past three years. Authorities have investigated all of the incidents and found no violations.
There was also the incident of the plane crashing near the facility full of 17 skydivers and one pilot, none of which received life-threatening injuries. Here is a video of the plane crash: