Two experienced skydivers who were taking part in an organised skydiving event in Southern California were killed after colliding midair and plummeting to the ground.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office identified the two who died as Georgia Jean, 56, of Box Elder, South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Aurora, Illinois.
Jean founded the company Circle Evolution, which "is the collaboration between conscious channel Georgia Jean and the non-physical collective The Circle of Light", according to the company's website. Jean said in a bio that she started skydiving in 2015 and has had more than 1700 jumps.
Pimentel was a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving company, according to LinkedIn.
The accident occurred at about noon Friday (local time) at Skydive Elsinore, the company said in a statement. Both were licensed skydivers, the company said. The Riverside County Fire Department said the two had suffered traumatic injuries and were taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Skydive Elsinore says the free fall portion of the dive and the opening of the parachutes were normal, but as they were preparing to land, the two skydivers collided at approximately 46 metres above the ground.
"The collision caused their parachutes to become entangled, and both sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground," Skydive Elsinore said in a statement. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Federal Aviation Administration was notified, the sheriff's office said. They will collect the skydivers' parachutes and conduct an investigation.
The US Parachute Association reports that in 2025, members made 3.47 million skydives and there were 16 skydiving fatalities. The organization said 5.6% of members reported they suffered an injury that required medical treatment in 2025, with the most common being ankle injuries during landings.
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