A man wearing a helmet and a parachute died in what appeared to be a BASE-jumping accident at a mid-rise building in the UTC area of San Diego Tuesday night, as his daughter watched.
The man, 48, was found on the street below the 20-plus-story Palisade UTC building at the intersection of Lombard Place and Nobel Drive at around 10:30 p.m., according to SDPD Officer David O'Brien.
Paramedics gave the man CPR but couldn't save him, Officer O'Brien said.
Investigators say it appears the man's parachute malfunctioned as he jumped out of the 23-floor building.
“The parachute malfunctioned, or he didn’t have enough time to deploy properly in the short amount of time,” said SDPD Cpt. Scott Wahl.
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The man’s daughter, who is 16, was present as her dad jumped from the building.
“This incident is such a shame as it was completely avoidable and it’s not just the tragic loss of one life, but this man’s daughter, 16-year-old daughter, no doubt her life is completely devastated,” said Wahl.
Wahl said they do not know the reason as to why the man decided to jump off the top of the building and said those who try something like this can face a misdemeanor charge.
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“For those that are out there and do these thrill-seeking types of events the impacts of what happens when things don’t go as planned extend far beyond that individual that lost their life,” said Wahl. “Here we have a 16-year-old that witnessed it, she’s never going to forget that moment. Also, first responders witnessed can’t be unseen and witnesses from the apartment complex all saw the aftermath.”
Security guards at the building told NBC 7 BASE jumping has been happening at the building for at least the past month.
BASE jumping consists of parachuting from fixed objects. BASE is an acronym for the categories of objects people leap from: buildings, antennae, spans and earth, such as cliffs.
No other information was available.
