A skydiver found dead on a Florida lawn over the weekend was in the “worst” condition one medical worker has ever witnessed.
The 69-year-old victim was pronounced dead on the scene of a Titusville yard where he landed near an airfield roughly 50 miles outside Orlando shortly after noon Saturday.
Vietnam veteran James Sconiers told WKMG the dead man fell hard onto his property.
“I was asking the person that was laying on the ground, ‘Hey man can you hear me?’ But he did not answer,” Sconiers said.
He indicated the incident left him with questions. Surveillance video catching a reflection off a truck’s back window appeared to show a skydiver coming in for a nasty landing.
“Look at the video and look at what happened. Why did he fall so hard if all the safety mechanism in place? Something tells me there’s a problem there,” he said.
Police identified the parachutist as Frederick C. Morello of Ormond Beach, Fla.
Nicole LaCount stepped outside her aunt’s Titusville home when she heard ambulances outside.
“I work in the medical field,” she said. “That’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”
It’s not clear if the parachutist was affiliated with the nearby Skydive Space Center. A request for comment hasn’t been returned.
The United States Parachute Association said 20 people in the U.S. died jumping out of planes in 2022. Its members reportedly made 3.9 million jumps safely.
