‘We all stopped to help’: Skydivers who went off-course in Middletown landed in different areas, one in traffic

No one hurt seriously, skydiving company owner says.
A skydiver was assisted by drivers April 2, 2023 who say she landed on Germantown Road in Middletown. TORI GLOVER/S=CONTRIBUTED

A skydiver was assisted by drivers April 2, 2023 who say she landed on Germantown Road in Middletown. TORI GLOVER/S=CONTRIBUTED

Three skydivers in Middletown were rescued Sunday afternoon when they apparently went off course and one became snagged in a tree, according to police.

The incident happened about 4:30 p.m. when a person was reported in a tree on Elwood Street. The skydiver was rescued by the Middletown Division of Fire.

Another skydiver landed behind the fast food restaurants on Verity Parkway and one landed on Germantown Road, according to Police Chief David Birk. He said the skydiver who landed near Frisch’s on Germantown was injured.

Tori Glover said she was at the light on Verity Parkway and Germantown when she saw the skydivers falling.

“As I turned the corner to go down Germantown the one diver was dangerously close to the houses and I just kept saying to myself ‘she is about to land on a house’,” Glover said.

That’s when Glover believes the wind blew the skydiver toward the street and she landed on power lines.

“I think that’s what slowed her fall down; she went over the power lines twice before hitting the ground. We all stopped to help, but those in two cars in front of me were already out of their cars and pulled her out of the road.”

Alex Hart, an owner of Start Skydiving, said it was a student’s first solo jump that ended with an off-landing. The other two skydivers were instructors.

“Nobody was hurt seriously. The one student was transported to Atrium as a precaution,” Hart said. “From what I heard for the EMT guys, everybody was okay.”

Middletown police received three 911 calls regarding the skydivers.

One caller reported that a skydiver was “stuck in a tree” on Elwood Steer. She told dispatchers: “I heard his parachute go through the trees.”

Another skydiver landed behind Lee’s Famous Recipe on Verity Parkway. The 911 caller said “all we heard was plop.”

A second 911 caller told dispatchers one skydiver was “hanging in the trees” after his parachute got caught in the limbs

A skydiver was rescued by the Middletown Division of Fire Sunday afternoon after three went off course. SUBMITTED

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