A U.S. Army parachutist who was injured Saturday after a midair collision during a Chicago air show stunt died Sunday. Sergeant First Class Corey Hood, 32, of Cincinnati, crashed into an apartment building and fell to the ground after colliding with another parachutist during the Chicago Air & Water Show, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The incident occurred after Hood's team, the "Golden Knights," and the other parachutist's team, "The Leap Frogs," performed a special maneuver during a jump. The team members formed a circle by holding hands in the air, then broke apart in different directions. It was around that time when Hood and the other parachutist collided.
Heather Mendenhall, a witnesses who saw the incident from her roof, recalled seeing one of the men hit the roof next door with his feet and fall, with his parachute trailing behind him, according to USA Today.
"His legs caught the tip of the roof, and then he fell over. It was horrible," she told the newspaper.
She recalled seeing him appear unconscious upon impact with the roof, and a maintenance guy was forced to call paramedics since he couldn't reach the parachutist.
"If he was only one foot closer to the roof, the maintenance guy could've grabbed him," continued Mendenhall.
Upon arriving at the scene, paramedics rushed Hood to Northwestern Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead a little after 4 p.m.
The other parachutist was found on North Avenue Beach with a broken leg.
Following the incident, the U.S. Army Parachute Team instituted a safety stand down, which may impact the team's performance schedule in the near future, ABC News reported. An investigation is underway.
