WFCN –
Due to “dust devils” interfering with their tandem jump, a skydiving instructor and her student tragically perished in Southern California. At Skydive Perris in Riverside County on August 2, 28-year-old Devrey LaRiccia Chase and an unidentified student who was tied to her for the tandem jump released the parachute. At that point, two minor whirlwinds appeared.
“Just as they were preparing to touch down, the tandem pair encountered a dust devil, a type of rough air.”Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, manager of Skydive Perris, said SFGATE via email that the two individuals had a difficult landing due to turbulence created by the abrupt air disturbance. “They were both taken to nearby hospitals in a critical condition.” The instructor and the pupil tragically succumbed to their wounds in the time thereafter.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, who spoke with SFGATE, the Perris skydiving facility on Goetz Road was visited by law enforcement at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Two persons with serious injuries were discovered by the deputies upon their arrival.
A representative from the sheriff’s office stated that they were both transported to a local hospital. “There was no foul play in this.” Notified authorities have placed the FAA in charge of the investigation.
According to Devrey’s husband Freddy Chase, who spoke with KTLA, two dust devils were to blame for the disaster. “She glanced at the first one, but as she steered around it, she managed to hit the second one,” he explained. “At that point, she was probably twenty-five to thirty feet in the air…” As a result, her canopy came tumbling down.
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Pictures of Freddy Chase’s daring skydives have attracted over 400 thousand Instagram followers. His wife, he claimed KTLA, recorded him as well and then created a glowing social media post praising her.
Having to part ways with you for the time being will be the most difficult thing Chase has ever had to do, he added.
The most recent year for which crash data was made public was 2023, and in that year, ten persons tragically lost their lives while participating in 3.65 million skydives organized by the United States Parachute Association.
The 28 fatalities that have occurred at the Lodi Skydiving Center in San Joaquin County since 1985 have brought more attention to skydiving in California in recent years.
“Everyone she worked with was inspired by Devrey LaRiccia’s life-affirming actions.” “She was keen on piqueing the interest of others in skydiving,” Brodsky-Chenfeld stated. “May the loved ones of Devrey and the student be comforted in our prayers and thoughts.”