Two women were killed in a skydiving accident after colliding in midair over California.
Levi Pimentel, 29, from Illinois, and Georgia Jean, 56, from South Dakota, had traveled to Skydive Elsinore, a skydiving center, on November 6.
According to NBC, an eyewitness said the jump appeared “normal” and “uneventful” until the women deployed their parachutes. They collided about 150 feet above the ground, causing their chutes to become completely entangled.
Both women were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where they were pronounced dead.
In a Facebook post, Skydive Elsinore said the women were “experienced, licensed skydivers.”
The center said both skydivers had traveled to the area to take part in an organized event.
Northeasterly winds were reported throughout the region, with gusts reaching 20 mph near March Air Reserve Base, about 14 miles from the skydiving center.
Investigators have not determined whether weather conditions played a role in the collision.
The skydiving center said there was no indication of an equipment failure and that it was cooperating with local authorities.
Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, was killed when her parachute became entangled with another skydiver’s just 150ft above the ground in California
Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, died alongside Georgia Jean after the two experienced skydivers collided in midair
The two women were taking part in a skydiving event whose participants hoped to set a California record by forming a 19-person formation in the air, surpassing the existing 12-person record. Georgia Jean, 56, is pictured here
Jean, who described herself as a mystic and former comedian, had once worried that she was a “deathwish time bomb” after struggling when she began learning to skydive.
In a 2015 blog post, she wrote that she had failed the first stage of training three times before an instructor told her she “just can’t skydive.”
She refused to abandon the sport, however, and eventually overcame her fears to become an accomplished skydiver.
“Whether my instructor was right or not about limitations my body/mind had… I was able to overcome them, AND the incredible fear that I might be a ‘deathwish time bomb’ just waiting to go off,” she wrote.
Jean went on to complete more than 1,700 jumps. According to her Facebook page, she also found success in competition, winning a bronze medal with the team First Froth at a mixed-formation skydiving event in 2024.
Pimentel was similarly dedicated to the sport. She had worked for more than eight years at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility in Illinois, where she was a lead instructor.
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She also organized training camps for aspiring skydivers and described herself on Facebook as an “optimist” and a “hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of improbable dreams.”
The two women knew each other before the fatal jump.
Pimentel was a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville in Illinois, where she had worked for more than eight years teaching others how to skydive
Jean, a self-described mystic and former comedian once feared she was a ‘deathwish time bomb’ after repeatedly failing her initial skydiving training
In an August social media post, Jean said she was interested in attending one of Pimentel’s skydiving tunnel camps in 2027, according to the New York Post.
The women had traveled from different states to Southern California for the organized event at Skydive Elsinore.
The LA Times reported that the women had been training for a potential skydiving record.
The newspaper reported that the group hoped to set a California record for the largest formation of women skydivers flying in an upright position.
Fellow skydiver Chazi Rutz said the group planned to create a 19-person formation, exceeding the existing record of 12.
Representatives of the facility reiterated that there appeared to be no equipment problems and said they were fully cooperating with the ongoing local investigation.
The accomplished instructor also organized specialized indoor skydiving training camps, sharing her passion for the sport with aspiring jumpers
Jean revealed in a 2015 blog post that an instructor had told her she ‘just can’t skydive,’ but she refused to give up and eventually completed more than 1,700 jumps
“Skydive Elsinore extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of both skydivers, and is grieving alongside all those affected,” the organization said in a statement.
Recent data from the United States Parachute Association puts the overall fatality rate for skydiving in the US at approximately 0.46 deaths per 100,000 jumps.
The association said equipment malfunctions are rarely responsible for fatalities. Landing problems, delayed emergency procedures and canopy collisions are identified as the three leading causes of death.
Our News Outlet contacted Skydive Elsinore and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office for additional comment.
