Army Skydiver Dies - A U.S. Army skydiver, who is a member of its Army Golden Knights parachute team, died on Sunday after getting apparently severe injuries while performing at the Chicago Air and Water Show the day before.
Sgt. 1st Class Corey Hood from Cincinnati, Ohio, collided with a member of the Navy Leap Frogs team member while doing a group maneuver in midair, CNN affiliate WLS reported.
The 32-year-old army skydiver dies, but not before his emergency chute opened and collided with a building on North Lake Shore Drive. Hood fell from the ground, according to a spectator. After the skydiving accident, he was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with leg injuries, but unfortunately did not survive.
At the time of his accident, Allison Bettencourt, public affairs officer with the Army, said he was still expected to recover.
He died Sunday afternoon after having survived five Iraq and Afghanistan tours of duty, according to CNN.
The Army skydiver died while performing the "bomb burst" maneuver, which features 13 skydivers hold inghands in a circle for 15 seconds, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The army officer's skydiving accident took place after the skydivers broke apart in different directions. Hood and another Navy skydiver collided.
"We heard a noise in the sky, my girlfriend and I," said, Daniel McSweeney, a witness. "We saw a reserve chute, didn't know what that means at the time. It was really scary. He was coming in really low and appeared to be motionless."
McSweeney added that despite of the skydiving accident, he thought that the incident had all been part of the performance. Hood allegedly fell about 30 stories after hitting the building.
He was reportedly knocked unconscious, resulting "in an uncontrolled offsite landing."
In his Army biography, it is recorded that Hood had logged more than 200 free fall jumps as well as 75 military static line jumps in his entire career.
The Army said they are doing an investigation into the Army skydiver accident.
"The Knights are a very close knit team and the military skydiving community is equally close; we will support Corey's family and each other during this difficult time," said Col. Matthew Weinrich, commander of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, in a statement.
The Chicago Air and Water Show is a two-day event held annually and is attended by millions of people. It is held at Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline, reported The Associated Press.
On Sunday, following the stunt where US Army skydiver dies, other skydiving teams have canceled their performances, something which spectators agree was the proper thing to do on such an incident, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
"It makes perfect sense, they have to take precautions," said Todd Muench, a spectator.
Parachutist who died after air show accident served 5 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. https://t.co/0qdquc6s7z pic.twitter.com/BBIuB6on6j
— World News Tonight (@WNTonight) August 17, 2015
