Westfield Skydiver Who Crash Landed in North Jersey Jump Dies From Injuries

By JASON KOESTENBLATT (Patch Staff)

A skydiver who misjudged a landing while parachuting out of a plane in northern New Jersey this week died as a result of his injuries.

According to nj.com, that man was Paul Hayes, 38, of Westfield, an experienced skydiver with more than 700 jumps under his belt. A spokesperson from Atlantic Health System confirmed Hayes died Friday night.

The incident occurred Thursday afternoon when Hayes was descending from a 14,000-foot drop at Skydive Sussex in Wantage and deployed his parachute around 3,500 feet, the report said. The parachute deployed fine and was operating without issue, but it was Hayes’ landing that caused the issue, njherald.com reported.

Hayes was taken to Newton Medical Center, then flown to Morristown Medical Center shortly after, njherald.com reported.

Many of Hayes’s Facebook posts are photos and videos of his skydiving jumps, and his LinkedIn account says he is currently a journeyman ironworker with Local 40.

He used that Ironworker skill set to help construct the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, according to nydailynews.com. Hayes graduated Westfield High School in 1995, the report said.

The career profile site also showed Hayes’s biography as stating “I am currently seeking venture capital for a New Jersey indoor skydiving wind tunnel,” and that “Skydiving and video editing is my passion.” According to the profile, Hayes is a Fairleigh Dickinson University – Vancouver graduate.

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