Authorities have confirmed that two skydivers died Friday while training to set a state record in Lake Elsinore.
Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, collided in mid-air and their parachutes became tangled, causing them to fall to the ground, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. They were pronounced dead at a local hospital.
According to a statement from Elsinore Skydiving, the collision occurred approximately 150 feet above the ground. The company said there was no indication that the jumper’s equipment malfunctioned.
Both women were experienced, licensed skydivers in town and participated in the event organized by Elsinore Skydiving, according to the company.
Chazi Rutz, a professional skydiver from Arizona, previously told The Times that the two skydivers participated in a group training session aimed at setting a California women’s record for the largest upright formation. At this orientation, participants appear to be sitting in the air.
The skydivers, including Lutz, jumped from the plane Friday morning and held each other’s hands. Lutz called the first minutes of the free fall uneventful, but said tragedy struck shortly after they opened their parachutes.
Jean is a former stand-up comedian and media personality who founded an energy work and life coaching service in Box Elder, South Dakota. Since discovering skydiving in 2015, she has completed about 1,700 jumps and competed in her first competition two years ago, according to her blog. As a member of the First Froth team, she earned a bronze medal in the 2024 United States Parachute Association Intermediate Mixed Formation Competition. National Skydiving Championships, her Facebook page reads.
According to Pimentel’s LinkedIn page, she is the lead instructor at iFLY Indoor Skydiving in Naperville, Illinois. Since her first skydive on her 18th birthday, she has completed more than 600 jumps and in 2022 was part of the team that set the women’s head-down world record, according to WTVO News 34. Pimentel also plans to join 39 women from 12 countries in Arizona this month to attempt to set a world record for the largest women’s upright formation, the report said.
The investigation is ongoing and the Federal Aviation Administration will collect their parachutes for further investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Times staff writer Iris Kwok contributed to this report