Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Watsonville Parachuter Dies After 2,000 Successful Jumps
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
April 20, 2021

Share

SACRAMENTO — A woman who died in a weekend parachute accident in Northern California had made thousands of previous jumps, the owner of the skydiving center said Monday.

Sabrina Call, 57, of Watsonville, died Saturday when her primary parachute and her reserve chute tangled, The Sacramento Bee reported, citing the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

The accident was under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. In a statement, the agency said skydiving investigations are limited to inspecting the parachute rigging.

A contract parachute rigger had packed her chute, according to the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center in Acampo, where the accident occurred.

“No one actually saw exactly what happened until probably the last couple hundred feet,” Bill Dause, who owns the center, told reporters on Monday. “She had two parachutes out, entangled with each other that weren’t fully inflated, and pointed toward the ground at very rapid speed.”

Call had made more than 2,000 skydives but had “been out of the sport for many years and got back to it a couple of years ago,” he said.

Call was the 22nd person to die at the center since 1981.

High-Risk Sport, Says Center’s Owner

Last month, a judge awarded $40 million in a negligence lawsuit filed by the family of an 18-year-old who died in 2016 at the center. Tyler Turner and his instructor, 25-year-old Yong Kwon, both died when their tandem parachute failed to open.

Dause said all the accidents at the center were due to different causes and calls skydiving a high-risk sport.

“Yes, we’ve had our share of fatalities and probably more than some of the smaller drop zones by a ways, but none of them have been the same. It’s not the same problem,” Dause said.

“We’re sad, but it’s just like a car wreck or anything else,” Dause said. “You have to go on.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

DON'T MISS

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

DON'T MISS

Bulldog Football Outlook: More Explosive Offense, a Potential Game-Wrecker on Defense

DON'T MISS

Over 2,300 Arrested in Pro-Palestinian Protests

DON'T MISS

See How Valley Lawmakers Voted on a Bill That Chills Free Speech

DON'T MISS

Meet Goldie Hawn: The Adorable Yorkie with a Heart of Gold

DON'T MISS

Police Investigating Possible Vandalism at Jewish Temple, Catholic Church

DON'T MISS

Valley PBS’ Top 2 Executives Departing. Were Their Resignations a Surprise?

DON'T MISS

Unfiltered Clip: Insights from Dr. Trita Parsi on Navigating the Israel-Palestine Conflict

DON'T MISS

Hamas Is Sending a Delegation to Egypt for Further Cease-Fire Talks in the Latest Sign of Progress

UP NEXT

DEA’s Marijuana Reclassification Could Revive California’s Struggling Pot Industry

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

UP NEXT

Californians Are Protecting Themselves from Wildfire. Why Is There an Insurance Crisis?

UP NEXT

Biden Says ‘Order Must Prevail’ on Campuses, but He Won’t Send National Guard

UP NEXT

Police Dismantle UCLA Tent Camp, Take Pro-Palestinian Protesters Into Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

UP NEXT

Biden’s Historic Marijuana Shift Is His Latest Election Year Move for Young Voters

UP NEXT

What Marijuana Reclassification Means for the United States

UP NEXT

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Vows to Force a Vote on Ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson

UP NEXT

Protesters Clash at UCLA After Police Arrest 300 Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators in New York City

Over 2,300 Arrested in Pro-Palestinian Protests

1 hour ago

See How Valley Lawmakers Voted on a Bill That Chills Free Speech

4 hours ago

Meet Goldie Hawn: The Adorable Yorkie with a Heart of Gold

5 hours ago

Police Investigating Possible Vandalism at Jewish Temple, Catholic Church

15 hours ago

Valley PBS’ Top 2 Executives Departing. Were Their Resignations a Surprise?

Entertainment /

17 hours ago

Unfiltered Clip: Insights from Dr. Trita Parsi on Navigating the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Video /

17 hours ago

Hamas Is Sending a Delegation to Egypt for Further Cease-Fire Talks in the Latest Sign of Progress

19 hours ago

President Joe Biden Calls Japan and India ‘Xenophobic’ Nations That Do Not Welcome Immigrants

19 hours ago

DEA’s Marijuana Reclassification Could Revive California’s Struggling Pot Industry

19 hours ago

How to Reclaim the Israel-Palestine Debate From the Radicals on Both Sides

19 hours ago

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

As of Thursday, the infamous “tunnel lane” on northbound Highway 99 passing through the area near downtown Merced is no more. Victor Patto...

33 mins ago

33 mins ago

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

34 mins ago

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

1 hour ago

Bulldog Football Outlook: More Explosive Offense, a Potential Game-Wrecker on Defense

1 hour ago

Over 2,300 Arrested in Pro-Palestinian Protests

4 hours ago

See How Valley Lawmakers Voted on a Bill That Chills Free Speech

5 hours ago

Meet Goldie Hawn: The Adorable Yorkie with a Heart of Gold

15 hours ago

Police Investigating Possible Vandalism at Jewish Temple, Catholic Church

Entertainment /
17 hours ago

Valley PBS’ Top 2 Executives Departing. Were Their Resignations a Surprise?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend