A Westville businessman’s dream of adding parachuting to his bucket list ended in tragedy when he apparently suffered a heart attack and died, minutes after attempting his first solo static line jump.
Gareth Vaughn’s wife and son watched in horror as he plunged to his death at Orange Farm in Eston on Sunday.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Joey Jeevan confirmed that this was Vaughn’s first solo jump.
“He jumped from the aircraft and managed to open his parachute. During this time he was getting step-by-step instructions from his trainer.
“But minutes into the jump he experienced difficulty.”
Jeevan said Vaughn deviated from his original landing site and fell off course, crashing into a boundary wall. He died before medics could get to him.
Skydiver Vernon Kloppers, who was the instructor on duty at the Durban Skydive Centre, said Vaughn had joined the training programme and this was his first solo static line jump.
“He jumped at 3 500 feet and his parachute automatically opened through the static line. He was seen controlling the parachute until about 1 500 feet. At this point, he became unresponsive under the canopy. We do not know what happened.”
Vaughn’s close friend, Paul Raglan-Smith, said parachuting had been on Vaughn’s bucket list for many years.
“Yesterday was Mother’s Day and he decided the time was right to make his dream come true. Unfortunately, it ended tragically.”
Vaughn’s body was taken to the Hillcrest Hospital.
“Doctors at the hospital said they suspected he suffered a massive heart attack soon after he jumped.”
He said Vaughn’s family were battling to come to terms with his death and his wife and son were in a state of shock.