Skydiver Dies After Airshow Collision

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U.S. Army file photo

Two skydivers were hurt when they collided during an airshow performance of the Army Golden Knights and the Navy Leap Frogs on Saturday at the Chicago Air & Water Show, and one of the men later died from his injuries. U.S. Army Sgt. Corey Hood, 32, of Cincinnati, died in a hospital on Sunday. The two teams were performing a “bomb burst” display, in which 13 skydiverslink in free fall to form a circle, and Sgt. Hood collided with a member of the Navy team as the formation broke up, according to news reports. The other skydiver landed on a beach and was treated for a broken leg.

Sgt. Hood was knocked out in the collision, and crashed into a building as he drifted to the ground. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition with a head injury. He had been in the Army for more than 10 years, according to his official biography, and had served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.He had logged more than 500 free-fall jumps and 75 static-line jumps during his career.The last Golden Knights jumper to be killed during a dive was Sgt. Thomas Johnson, in 1980, when both his main and reserve parachutes failed to open, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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