Skydiving instructor dies and student seriously injured after ‘dust devil’ disrupts their landing
“You were an angel amongst us,” wrote her heartbroken husband in an Instagram post
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A professional skydiving instructor has died and her student left seriously injured after the pair collided with “dust devils” in southern California on Friday.
An instructor for Skydive Perris, Devrey LaRiccia Chase, 28, was on her last jump of the day. She and her student were descending with their parachute deployed in a routine tandem jump when they encountered the dust devils, according to Devrey’s husband, Freddy Chase, via KTLA 5 News.
Dust devils are dust-filled whirlwinds, which can also contain debris, and form in dry and clear-sky conditions when the ground reaches a high temperature. They resemble a small tornado but are not generally thought to be a threat.
A fellow skydiver, LaRiccia Chase’s husband, 32, explained that she managed to avoid the first dust devil but was caught in the second as it was travelling over grass, meaning she could not see the direction in which it was moving.
This sent her canopy into an uncontrolled spin, bringing her and her student crashing into the ground from a height of approximately 25 to 30 feet.
The pair were transported to hospital, where LaRiccia Chase was later pronounced dead. As of Tuesday (6 August) the identity and status of her student have not been released.
In a post on Instagram, where he has over 400,000 followers, her husband expressed his grief at losing his wife, who he had known for five years, and called her an “angel”.
“I loved you so much baby, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of my life not hearing your obnoxious laugh, staring into your beautiful eyes or not seeing your breathtaking smile every day,” he wrote.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments