Two parachutists injured at Chicago Air & Water Show
(Reuters) - Two parachutists performing in a Chicago air show were injured in a mid-air collision on Saturday, one of them critically, a spokesperson for a U.S. army parachute team said Saturday.
The two men, one from a Navy team and one from an Army team, were injured, said Donna Dixon, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Golden Knights team.
The army soldier, who was not identified, is in critical condition, she said in an email to Reuters.
The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. CT (12 a.m. EDT) during the Chicago Air & Water Show, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Julie Coy.
Heather Mendenhall told the newspaper that she saw one of the men hit a building and then fall.
"His legs caught the tip of the roof, and then he fell over. It was horrible," the newspaper quoted her as saying. "If he was only one foot closer to the roof, the maintenance guy could've grabbed him."
One of the parachutists was a member of the Army Golden Knights parachute team, while the other was with the Navy Leap Frogs parachute team, Dixon said.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Bernard Orr)
