Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
A 33-year-old Snohomish County man died in a solo skydiving accident Saturday afternoon in the 11000 block of U.S. Highway 101 near Sanderson Field.
According to Mason County coroner Jaime Taylor, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest. Taylor said the parachute clipped a tree, causing the person to hit the tree.
“We don’t get skydivers all of the time,” Taylor told the Journal. “We’ve had a few but it’s not unusual.”
Taylor identified the victim as Kapil Dinani.
According to a news release from Skydive Kapowsin, the parachute functioned as designed, but during the landing sequence, the person hit the tree.
Skydive Kapowsin declined to comment further to the Journal other than the press release, pending the conclusion of an investigation with local authorities.
“The skydiving community is a close-knit group and any loss of its members is felt by all,” Skydive Kapowsin said in a news release. “Skydive Kapowsin management and community extends its condolences to the family and friends of the young man who lost his life.”
According to a news release from Mason County Fire District 11, an EMS unit was traveling near U.S. Highway 101 and witnessed a parachutist land east of the highway on top of a hill. The EMS unit stopped to check on the parachutist and found him unresponsive and not breathing. The crew attempted life-saving measures and called for additional help but could not revive the person.
Fire District 11 told the Journal the news release is all the information they have about the accident at this time.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office Jason Dracobly told the Journal they are conducting a death investigation and that it is “straightforward.”
“It was windy that day,” Dracobly told the Journal. “Everything appeared fine with him floating down.”
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