A 16-year-old girl watching her father perform a dangerous stunt instead witnessed him plummet to his death after his parachute failed to open, police said.
The 48-year-old man, an experienced BASE jumper, died Tuesday evening after attempting a stunt from a 23-story luxury skyscraper in San Diego, California.
BASE, an acronym that stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth, is an extreme sport that utilizes parachutes to jump from various heights.
Although prohibited in many states across the U.S and the world., an estimated 1,000 individuals currently partake in the sport and there is an ongoing list of the top 50 jumpers in the world.
An analysis of more than 20,000 jumps proved that injury or death caused by BASE jumping is 43 times higher than jumping out of a plane.
An estimated 448 BASE jumpers have died between 1981 and 2022, with five total deaths this year alone.
At 10:30 p.m, one 911 caller reported hearing a "loud pop" reminiscent of a gunshot, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The caller said that after the sound he stepped out on his balcony and saw the man bleeding on the ground outside the Palisade UT apartment tower.
When officers arrived, they discovered the man wearing a helmet and parachute and attempted to revive him but were unsuccessful. He died at the scene, police said.
"The parachute malfunctioned, or he didn't have enough time to deploy properly in the short amount of time," SDPD Captain Scott Wahl told KNSD News.
Officers told KSWB-TV that the victim's daughter witnessed the tragedy.
"This individual had his 16-year-old daughter there, and as a father of four kids, I cannot imagine what she's going through at this point," Wahl said. "No question that she's never going to forget those final few moments."
Security guards at the high-rise said similar BASE jumping incidents have been occurring at the building for "at least the past month," KNSD News reported.
Police warned that not only can those attempting these sorts of dangerous stunts face a misdemeanor charge, but they also have the potential to traumatize witnesses.
"There are consequences that are life and death — this is for real," Wahl told the station. "It's not just a crime to do it. When things don't go as planned, there are other people who are severely traumatized and impacted."
Newsweek reached out to the San Diego Police Department but did not receive comment in time for publication.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
