LOUISBURG, N.C. – A skydiver with more than 1,800 parachute jumps has died after landing hard following a jump in North Carolina.
Franklin County deputies told media outlets that James Stremmel was killed around 12:30 p.m. after jumping near an airport in Louisburg about 20 miles north of Raleigh.
Stremmel was jumping at the Triangle Skydiving Center.
Skydiving Center owner Gregory Upper's voice was emotional when he told reporters Stremmel went up with others for his second or third jump of the day when he landed hard Saturday.
Upper says Stremmel was a former Marine and an experienced jumper who came out almost every weekend. Stremmel would do tandem jumps for inexperienced skydivers.
Deputies and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the death, including whether Stremmel's parachute deployed properly.
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