This isn’t a misleading headline with click bait in mind or an entry to the annals of the Onion. Those are simply the facts — devastating for sure, but facts no less.
According to the Times-News‘ MagicValley.com, a 73-year-old man died on May 7 following an accident that occurred while BASE jumping from the Perrine Memorial Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho, a well known attraction from extreme sports enthusiasts: “James E. Hickey of Claremont, Calif., intended to jump from the bridge while another person set his parachute on fire. Hickey planned to disconnect the parachute after a few moments and open a second chute, which would have carried him to the ground. Instead, a fireball erupted and Hickey fell nearly 500 feet to his death.”
VICE Sports reports that “[t]he coroner’s report listed the cause of death as blunt force trauma.”
It should be note that Perrine Memorial Bridge has seen more than its fair share of BASE jumping accidents.
Apparently, Hickey was an experienced BASE jumper, and lighting parachutes on fire is an actual thing that actual people do. As MagicValley.com explains, “‘[w]hen the stunt is done from a plane, a second person throws a flaming tennis ball to ignite the first chute, Chuma said Fire accelerants are frequently used.”
Really…? I’m not a BASE jumper myself, but that seems like an awfully bad idea asking for trouble. Seems to me that with this and Dean Potter’s untimely death, there is a lot to talk about in the way of these pursuits. That being said, The Inertia Mountain’s thoughts and well wishes go out to his family, friends, and the community he surrounded himself with.
