SALLISAW, Okla. — Spanish version: Para español haga click aqui.
A skydiving incident took place at Adventure Skydiving Center in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Feb. 18, leaving one woman dead.
Emergency services were dispatched to the Sallisaw Airport at around 3:30 p.m. after a report of a skydiver who had sustained injuries while participating in a solo skydive.
The Sallisaw Police Department (SPD) identified the woman as 44-year-old Heather Glasgow of Poteau, Okla. According to SPD, Glasgow struck the ground after an unknown issue took place during the skydive.
Police say witnesses stated her parachute had fully deployed, but she was in a spin that she did not recover out of. Emergency services got to her very quickly after the incident and transported her to Northeastern Health Systems Sequoyah for treatment. Glasgow was pronounced dead at approximately 8 p.m.
SPD says Glasgow had previously conducted a tandem skydive as well as attended two first-time jump classes. These jumps and courses were at Adventure Skydive Center.
The Adventure Skydiving Center confirmed to 5NEWS there was a parachute incident and said they will soon release more information.
The SPD says they have been in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration and will be coordinating the investigation with them. They are also working with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office to determine a cause for the incident.
Sunday afternoon, 5NEWS spoke with a man who witnessed the incident.
"The body, that was on that parachute, was just spinning in circles," said Roland Preston.
He says he was on his way to dinner, driving on U.S. Highway 59 in Sallisaw. When he saw Glasgow's body in the air, lying horizontally.
"I mean it was completely sideways," Preston said. "I feel like they were already unconscious in the air. Because if they would have been responsive in the air, they would've been kicking their legs. They would have been trying to fight with their arms to control the parachute."
Preston said he watched helplessly as Glasgow spun to the ground.
"It bothered us so badly," Preston said. "I wanted to be able to do something for the individual. But there was nothing I could do at all except call 911."
As Preston watched her body fall to the ground he thought to himself, "There's no way that the individual could have even lived through that."
"Just hearing the thud, the distinct sound... the way it sounded when the person hit. It was traumatizing," Preston said.
He says he's never heard of an issue with the skydiving center. "They've always been really, really big on safety— safety oriented. Everybody that I've come in contact with that I know that has skydived, had said that their facility is one of the best around."
5NEWS did reach out to family and friends of Glasgow, they tell us it is too soon to speak on camera. However, they want people to know she had a beautiful soul.
Stay with 5NEWS for updates on this developing story.
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