73-Year-Old BASE Jumper Dies After His Parachute Opens Too Late

A 73-year-old BASE jumper died Thursday while leaping off a bridge in Twins Falls, Idaho, into Snake River after his parachute deployed too late, local authorities said.

The Twins Falls County Sheriff’s Office identified the thrill-seeker as James E. Hickey of Claremont, Calif. Hickey had done about 1,000 BASE jumps—which involve parachuting from fixed structures like bridges, buildings and cliffs—since taking up the sport about 10 years ago, Tom Aiello, a friend and local BASE jumping instructor, told Reuters.

Authorities say the fatality at Perrine Bridge was the second in the area so far this year, after 32-year-old Bryan Turner of Vancouver, British Columbia, died in March following a similar stunt. Turner’s death was the first BASE jumping fatality at the bridge site in four years, CNN and Reuters report.