What a tragic freak accident…
You may have heard about skydiving star Freddy Chase mourning the death of his beloved bride Devrey LaRiccia Chase this week. The influencer’s wife was also a skydiver, and she passed away suddenly in an accident during a routine jump with a student. But what was initially reported as a small aircraft accident is so much more complicated — and unlikely.
It turns out Devrey died in a parachute jump — a tandem jump in which she was tethered to a student.
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Devrey and her student were jumping at SkyDive Perris in Perris, California — about 70 miles south of LA. The plane did not crash — they had already jumped. Freddy took to his Instagram Stories to clarify:
“There was no malfunction, there was no plane incident, she was turning her canopy on final to come land safely on the grass, like she has done hundreds of times.”
So what happened?
Freddy explained to KTLA on Wednesday that just as they were on their final descent, a pair of dust devils were whipped up right below them. A dust devil is like a tiny tornado — a rotating column of air that picks up the dirt and debris, only much smaller and with slower wind than a twister. Far less dangerous… unless you happen to be above it with a parachute, which reacts to the smallest changes in wind.
A well-known skydiver himself, Freddy talked step-by-step through what happened with the two dust devils that happened to form right below them:
“She missed the first one, and when she maneuvered around it, she hit the second one. At that point, she was about 25 to 30 feet in the air… it sent her canopy in a downward spiral.”
If it had just been one… What are the odds…
Making it even more difficult, detailed Freddy on IG, was the fact these dust devils were on the grassy landing area, meaning they were picking up less dirt and sand — and were most just wind, much more difficult to see:
“With dust devils going over grass, they become invisible because you can’t see any dust in the direction they’re going…it sent her canopy in an uncontrolled spin to the ground.”
So awful. Just a freak accident… Devrey did everything she could, but she and her student were out of control and hit the ground hard. Both were rushed to the hospital, where Devrey was pronounced dead right away. Unfortunately, the student — identified as 28-year-old Kayla Kieko Black — also passed away from her injuries. A friend has started a GoFundMe for her family HERE.
As for Freddy, he has not stopped posting about his wife all week. On Thursday morning, he posted to his followers to “hold the people you cherish tight”:
“Tell them how much you love them and can’t imagine life without them.”
Good advice.
Sending love and light to Freddy and all of Devrey and Kayla’s loved ones…
[Image via Freddy Chase/Instagram.]
