LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Two experienced skydivers died Friday after colliding in midair during an organized event in Southern California and falling to the ground.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims Saturday as Georgia Jean, 56, of Box Elder, South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Aurora, Illinois.
Jean founded Circle Evolution, which describes itself on its website as a collaboration between “conscious channel Georgia Jean and the non-physical collective The Circle of Light.” In her biography, Jean said she began skydiving in 2015 and had completed more than 1,700 jumps.
Pimentel was identified on LinkedIn as a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility.
The crash occurred around noon Friday at Skydive Elsinore, which said in a statement that both skydivers were properly licensed.
The Riverside County Fire Department said the two suffered traumatic injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
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Skydive Elsinore said the free-fall portion of the jump and the parachute deployments proceeded normally. However, the skydivers collided about 150 feet above the ground as they prepared to land.
“The collision caused their parachutes to become entangled, and both sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground,” the company said. Both were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The sheriff’s office notified the Federal Aviation Administration. Investigators will collect the skydivers’ parachutes as part of the investigation.
According to the U.S. Parachute Association, its members completed 3.47 million skydives in 2025, resulting in 16 fatalities. The organization said 5.6% of members reported injuries requiring medical treatment, with ankle injuries during landings reported most frequently.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
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