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Skydiver dies after mid-air incident
A story you will only see on FOX 5: A metro Atlanta skydiver’s loved ones say she died doing what she loved. Forty-eight-year-old Jasmine Black collided with another skydiver mid-air in Upson County last weekend. She was too close to the ground for her backup parachute to work.
THOMASTON, Ga. - A metro Atlanta woman who took up skydiving later in life died last weekend after a midair collision during a jump in Upson County, according to her family.
What we know:
Jasmine Black, 48, of Locust Grove, was on her 163rd skydive when she collided with another parachutist approximately 800 feet above the Thomaston-Upson County Airport. Her son, Raven Hedden, told FOX 5 the crash happened too close to the ground for her reserve parachute to save her.
The Federal Aviation Administration is working with the Upson County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the incident, which occurred Saturday afternoon.
Black was laid to rest Friday morning in Griffin.
What they're saying:
"From what I'm told, she died upon impact, doing something that she loved," Hedden said.
Hedden said both skydivers attempted to deploy their reserve parachutes after their main chutes became tangled during the fall. The other individual was able to land safely.
"Their parachutes became untangled. And once that happened, they free fell for a bit," Hedden said. "My mother, she cut away and deployed her safety reserve. Unfortunately, she was too low to the earth for that to make a difference and ultimately save her life."
Black, a devout member of the Baháʼí Faith, was remembered by her son as having a passionate heart and a spirit for adventure.
"She had me when she was 19 years old," he said. "So she's had, you know, sort of a life of responsibility—far from the adrenaline-seeking nomad that you might anticipate meeting when you meet somebody who skydives every weekend."
Despite the tragedy, Hedden said his mother didn’t want fear to deter others from the sport she loved.
"She explicitly told me before—if anything were to happen—I would hate for that to be the reason that anybody doesn't skydive," he said. "So, so much fun. It's amazing. I love it."
The Source: FOX 5's Rob DiRienzo spoke with friends and family of Jasmine Black for this article.