Two skydivers killed in midair collision near Lake Elsinore, Riverside County

Mixed · 2Two skydivers were killed when they collided during a jump over Lake Elsinore, in Riverside County, Southern California, on Friday 6 November, shortly before noon. 1 2 Right · 1Riverside County Sheriff's deputies responded to the 20000 block of Cereal Street and found the two victims receiving medical attention. 2 Left · 1The Daily Mirror, quoting Lt. Deirdre Vickers, put the deputies' dispatch at 11:47am for reports of an air emergency, and said the investigation was ongoing with no further details available. 3

Mixed · 2Both were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead; the Riverside County Fire Department said they had suffered traumatic injuries, and NBC News reported they were in critical condition on arrival, according to a sheriff's lieutenant. 1 2 Left · 1Skydive Elsinore said the two were licensed and experienced, that the freefall was normal and that both opened their parachutes at the expected altitude, and that they collided as they prepared to land, with their parachutes becoming entangled. 1 Mixed · 2Skydive Elsinore said in its statement that the collision caused their parachutes to become entangled and that both skydivers sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground. 4 5

Mixed · 3The height of the collision is reported differently: Skydive Elsinore's statement, carried by NBC News, put it at approximately 150 feet, and Anadolu Agency, citing The New York Times, said about 45 metres (148 feet), while the New York Post, citing witnesses via KTLA, said about 50 feet. 1 6 2 Left · 1The collision happened a little more than a half-mile from the skydiving centre. A cause was not immediately clear, though the centre said there was no indication that equipment malfunctioned. 1 Left · 1Spokesperson Josh Hall said the two were visiting from out of town and taking part in a California Women's Upright Record team event, a world-record attempt for the number of women performing a standing-stance dive, scheduled through Sunday. Skydive Elsinore was hosting it but not organising it, and organisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 1

Left · 1Metro, citing Skydive Elsinore manager and co-owner Josh Hall, reported that 20 licensed and experienced skydivers took part in the jump, all exiting a plane at 12,500 feet, and that the two victims were believed to be female though their identities were not officially confirmed. 7 Mixed · 2Anadolu Agency, relaying The New York Times, said a Skydive Elsinore spokesperson described the accident as happening during a training camp for women organised by the company, whereas NBC News quoted spokesperson Josh Hall saying the centre was hosting the record-attempt event but not organising it. Anadolu also said Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office told reporters the incident was under investigation. 6 1 Right · 2The victims were later identified as Georgia Jean, 56, of Box Elder, South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Aurora, Illinois, both women, according to the New York Post and Fox News. 8 9

Right · 2Fox News and Breitbart, citing the women's LinkedIn profile and website, said Pimentel was a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving facility in Illinois, and Jean had made more than 1,700 jumps. 9 10 Mixed · 2The New York Post, followed by the Daily Mirror and Breitbart, reported that the two women knew each other before the jump, and that Jean had written in a 2015 blog post of overcoming a fear that she might be a "deathwish time bomb"; the Post called this a chilling foreshadowing, while the Mirror said Jean had won a bronze medal in a mixed formation skydiving event in 2024. 11 12 Mixed · 2The New York Post, Daily Mirror and Breitbart reported strong winds with gusts up to 20 mph at the time, and said it was unclear whether the conditions played a role. 8 12

Right · 2According to the Associated Press, as relayed by the New York Post and Breitbart, the Federal Aviation Administration was notified and will collect the parachutes as part of its investigation; the Post said the victims died at Inland Valley Medical Center. 11 10 Right · 1One New York Post article quoted the company's release as putting the collision at approximately 160 feet, while its other reports and most outlets said about 150 feet. 8 11 Left · 1The United States Parachute Association says 16 skydivers died in U.S. jumps last year, low compared with the sport's most dangerous years in the 1970s, against an estimated 3.47 million jumps in 2025. 1

Left · 2Several British outlets set the crash against other skydiving accidents this year: the Daily Mirror cited two midair collisions in May, in Washington state and at Skydive Perris in California, and a July death in Massachusetts, while The Independent recalled a June plane crash in Missouri that killed 12. 3 4