One skydiver injured, another stuck 80 feet in the air over Franklin County
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- A skydiver spent two hours stuck 80 feet high in a tree near Peach Orchard Road.
- Fire crews, municipal teams, and Woodchuck Tree Service helped rescue the skydiver.
- A second skydiver suffered moderate injuries and was taken to WakeMed Raleigh.
A skydiver walked away uninjured after spending two hours Saturday night stuck 80 feet above the ground in trees near Peach Orchard Road in Franklin County.
Another skydiver who took a hard landing at a nearby airport wasn’t so lucky.
Around 6:30 p.m. Saturday a pair of 911 calls to Franklin County Emergency Communications reported the two incidents.
Franklin County Emergency Management Director Nicholas Thorpe told The News & Observer Sunday morning that homeowners reported the skydiver stuck in the tree.
Fire crews, along with Woodchuck Tree Service, worked together to climb the large-in-diameter tree in a wooded-area and rescue the skydiver.
Heavy rains slowed the rescue.
“It took a complete county, municipal and private sector effort to help this person get down from the tree safely,” Thorpe said. “Incidents like this are serious and life-threatening to the person who is stuck in the tree and for the responders who have the responsibility to rescue people under any circumstance. Tonight the entire community came together, and we are glad this person was able to walk way from this incident.”
The second skydiver landed at Skydive Raleigh’s airport off Highway 56, Thorpe said.
Franklin County Emergency Medical Services took that skydiver to the WakeMed Raleigh with moderate injuries.
Mark Price contributed to this story.
