Professional Skydiver Dies After Hard Landing Into Racine Pond

YORKVILLE, WI — A professional skydiver made a hard landing into a pond in Racine County Sunday morning and later died, according to authorities.

It happened near the Skydive Midwest property around 11:30 a.m., according to a news release from the Racine County Sheriff's Office. Other skydivers in the area pulled the man from the pond after the landing but he wasn't conscious and not breathing right and he died at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

The man was conducting test runs for the upcoming national championship competition, the sheriff's office said. Several other professional skydivers were doing the same exercises at the time. The skydivers who saw the crash told authorities it seemed like the man descended at the incorrect angle, resulting in him making a hard landing into the water.

Racine sheriff's deputies and personnel from the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Rescue tried to save the man's life with "vigorous resuscitation efforts" but the 36-year-old man from Tennessee did not survive, according to authorities.

Skydivers who saw the crash said his parachute deployed and there were no signs of distress before, during or immediately after the landing, according to the sheriff's office.

The death comes just months after two skydivers were seriously injured during a tandem jump in Racine.

SEE ALSO: 2 Skydivers Crash, Hospitalized In Yorkville