The skydiver has been identified as Bond Springer, 32, of Boca Raton, Florida.
CHESTER, S.C. —
The family of a man who died while skydiving in South Carolina said he was an experienced skydiver with more than 400 jumps.
Rescue dogs discovered the body of Bond Springer, 32, of Boca Raton, Florida Sunday morning, officials said.
Authorities said Springer was executing an advanced wing-suit maneuver when he collided with another jumper Saturday evening. The 14,000-foot jump was reportedly one of the last of the evening during an annual festival held at Skydive Carolina in Chester, South Carolina.
It’s unclear what led up to the men colliding midair.
One of the men, Avalon Wolf, broke a leg while landing, but Springer; could not immediately be found.
“We knew he would probably be hurt so we were planning on coming up there (SC) but this is a different coming home now,” said Springer’s mother over the phone.
Officials said severe thunderstorms Saturday night forced them to suspend the search.
“We did search the area as thoroughly as we could but because of the storms and severe weather and dense underbrush we needed a dog team in there,” said Ed Darby, who is the deputy director of Chester County Emergency Management.
The search resumed around 7 a.m. Sunday and within two hours search dogs found Springer’s body. Darby said he was in a wooded area about a mile from the landing site. He added Springer’s parachute hadn’t been deployed.
Bond Springer, 32, of Boca Raton, Florida, also leaves behind his girlfriend Christina, with whom he shares a 3-year-old daughter named Madisyn.
“I’m heartbroken,” said Christina in a text. “He was an amazing father and his daughter adored him,”
Springer’s mother said her son had a free spirit and that spirit could easily be seen in his daughter.
“She has his spirit,” said Springer’s mother.
“She did. He (Bond) was like that no matter what he did.”
“No malfunction is believed to have occurred with any equipment and all was normal leading to the collision,” said operations manager Ryan Levesque, in a release.
“It’s a very popular event and a lot of people are involved in this sport,” said Darby. “It’s just unfortunate.”
Story and video: http://www.wsoctv.com
CHESTER, SC - LOWRYS, S.C. (AP) -- Deputies in South Carolina say a skydiver collided with another skydiver in midair before falling about 14,000 feet to his death.
Local media outlets report that the body of 32-year-old Bond Springer of Boca Raton, was found Sunday near Skydive Carolina, a skydiving business in Chester County.
Authorities say Springer and another experienced skydiver were doing advanced wing suit maneuvers during the final day of CarolinaFest, an event featuring specialized jump teams, when they collided in midair. The other skydiver deployed his main parachute and landed with a broken leg. Springer was not able to land safely.
Officials did not say if Springer's parachute opened or not. Authorities are still investigating.
Story and video: http://www.wptv.com
Bond Springer, 32, of Boca Raton, Fla., was found dead in a wooded area of Chester County not far from the Chester airport around 8:52 a.m. Sunday, almost 14 hours after a team jump from an airplane went fatally wrong.
Springer, described as an experienced skydiver in a news release from the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, was skydiving over Chester County in a wing suit around 7:10 p.m. when he collided midair with a second skydiver.
The other man landed when his parachute deployed and was transported by EMS with a broken leg, according to a sheriff’s incident report, but it was unclear where Springer had landed, and rescue crews had to be called out to locate him. Searchers had to call off their efforts to find Springer as storms rolled into the area, and they resumed the search at 7 a.m. Sunday.
His body was discovered a short time later. Investigators are treating the area as a crime scene. Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse said it is standard procedure to begin an active investigation whenever a body is discovered in the county. The Chester County coroner was called to the scene shortly after the man was discovered.
Both men were jumping as a part of the annual CarolinaFest skydiving festival.
“Both skydivers in the incident were experienced and were executing advanced wing-suit maneuvers,” Skydive Carolina said in a statement. “No malfunction is believed to have occurred with any equipment and all was normal leading to the collision.” Officials did not say whether Springer’s parachute opened.
Original article can be found here: http://www.heraldonline.com
No comments:
Post a Comment