Two women have died in a skydiving accident that caused them to collide mid-air in California.
Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, and Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, visited Skydive Elsinore, a skydiving center, on November 6.
According to NBC, an eyewitness described the jump as ‘normal’ and ‘uneventful’ until the women opened their parachutes and collided about 150ft above the ground, completely entangling their chutes.
The women were taken to the Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where both of them were pronounced dead.
A Facebook post from Skydive Elsinore said that the women were ‘experienced, licensed skydivers.’
The post added that both skydivers were visiting the area to participate in an organized skydiving event at the center.
Northeast winds were reported across the region with gusts reaching 20mph near March Air Reserve Base, approximately 14 miles from the skydiving center.
Investigators have not established whether the weather contributed to the collision.
The skydiving center said there is no indication of anything wrong with the equipment and that it is cooperating with local authorities.
Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, was killed when her parachute became entangled with another skydiver’s just 150ft above the ground in California
Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, died alongside Georgia Jean after the two experienced skydivers collided in midair
The two women were taking part in a skydiving event whose participants hoped to set a California record by forming a 19-person formation in the air, surpassing the existing 12-person record. Georgia Jean, 56, is pictured here
Jean, a self-described mystic and former comedian, had once feared she was a ‘deathwish time bomb’ after struggling to master skydiving when she first took up the sport.
In a 2015 blog post, she revealed she had failed the first level of training three times before an instructor told her she ‘just can’t skydive.’
But she refused to give up, eventually overcoming her fears and becoming an accomplished skydiver.
‘Whether my instructor was right or not about limitations my body/mind had… I was able to overcome them, AND the incredible fear that I might be a “deathwish time bomb” just waiting to go off,’ she wrote.
Jean went on to complete more than 1,700 skydives and even enjoyed competitive success, winning a bronze medal with a team called First Froth at a mixed formation skydiving event in 2024, according to her Facebook page.
Pimentel was also deeply involved in the sport, having worked for more than eight years at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility in Illinois, where she served as a lead instructor.
She also organized training camps for aspiring skydivers and described herself on Facebook as an ‘optimist’ and ‘hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of improbable dreams.’
The two women were also acquainted before the fatal jump.
Pimentel was a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville in Illinois, where she had worked for more than eight years teaching others how to skydive
Jean, a self-described mystic and former comedian once feared she was a ‘deathwish time bomb’ after repeatedly failing her initial skydiving training
In an August social media post, Jean had expressed interest in attending one of Pimentel’s skydiving tunnel camps in 2027, according to the New York Post.
Both women had traveled to Southern California from out of state to participate in the organized event at Skydive Elsinore.
The LA Times reported how the women were training for a potential skydiving record.
According to the newspaper, the group was hoping to establish a California record for the largest formation of women skydiving in an upright position.
A fellow skydiver, Chazi Rutz, said the group hoped to perform a 19-person formation, surpassing an existing 12-person record.
Facility representatives emphasized that equipment issues do not appear to be involved and noted that they are fully cooperating with ongoing local investigations.
The accomplished instructor also organized specialized indoor skydiving training camps, sharing her passion for the sport with aspiring jumpers
Jean revealed in a 2015 blog post that an instructor had told her she ‘just can’t skydive,’ but she refused to give up and eventually completed more than 1,700 jumps
‘Skydive Elsinore extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of both skydivers, and is grieving alongside all those affected,’ the organization said in a statement.’
According to recent data from the United States Parachute Association, the overall skydiving fatality rate in the US is approximately 0.46 deaths in every 100,000 jumps.
The association stated that equipment malfunctions are rarely the cause of deaths; landing problems, delayed emergency procedures and canopy collisions are listed as the three main causes of death.
The Daily Mail reached out to Skydive Elsinore and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
