The incident occurred in the city of Ritzville on Sunday, May 24
Credit: Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A skydiver has died and another jumper has been injured following a mid-air collision in Ritzville, Washington State on Sunday, May 24
- Authorities identified the skydivers as Randy Hubbs, from Kennewick, and Nicole Klein, from the Colville area
- “We offer our deepest condolences to those impacted by this incident,” the Adams County Sheriffs Office said
A skydiver has died and another person has been injured following a mid-air collision in Washington State.
On Sunday, May 24, the Adams County Sheriff's Office responded to a medical emergency in the 2000 block of E. Schoessler Road in the county at around 5:37 p.m. local time, per a previous release shared on Monday, May 25.
While one of the skydivers died, the second was treated for injuries at a medical facility, the sheriff's office said.
“According to information provided by West Plains Skydiving, the individuals involved were identified as Randy Hubbs, of the Kennewick area, and Nicole Klein, of the Colville area,” authorities revealed in an update later that day.
They also confirmed that the incident had occurred during a scheduled group jump.
Credit: Adams County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff's office added, “Preliminary findings indicate an in-flight collision occurred between the two skydivers during descent. Following the collision, Randy Hubbs reportedly became incapacitated and was no longer in control of his parachute canopy.”
Staff members tracked Hubbs from around 500 feet above the ground, discovering that he “drifted north and away from the designated drop zone,” the release confirmed.
Witnesses said that Hubbs appeared unresponsive, “with his head and arms down, before disappearing beyond a hill northeast,” per the update.
"Officials stated weather conditions were not considered a contributing factor in the incident. A total of 11 individuals participated in the jump operation," the sheriff's office wrote.
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Credit: Google
“We offer our deepest condolences to those impacted by this incident,” authorities said.
The sheriff's office confirmed in its initial post that the deceased individual had been “released to the care of the Adams County Coroners Office.”
West Plains Skydiving, the Adams County Coroner's Office and the Adams County Sheriff's Office didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.
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