A skydiver from the Los Angeles area suffered life-threatening injuries Monday morning when he slammed into a Lompoc bridge during a routine jump. According to Lompoc officials and witnesses at the scene, the man’s parachute was open at the time of the collision. Weather conditions were also reportedly mild and favorable at the time.
The skydiver — whose name has not been released — had jumped out of a plane operated by Skydive Santa Barbara, which is based at the Lompoc airport. The bridge he hit — North H bridge — is near the skydiving landing zone, and was temporarily closed as an air ambulance arrived to transport the man to Lompoc Valley Medical Center. He has since been transferred to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s trauma center.
Media reports have stated that the man was on his second jump of the day, and that he had completed approximately six total. He reportedly jumped from 13,000 feet and opened his chute at around 5,000 feet.
Authorities, including the FAA, continue to investigate the incident. No other information has been released.