Teen sees dad plunge to death in parachute stunt off high-rise, California cops say

A 16-year-old girl witnessed her father’s fatal plunge from a San Diego high-rise in a parachuting stunt gone wrong, California police told news sources.

The 48-year-old man jumped off the 23-story Palisade UTC apartment tower at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, but his parachute didn’t open, police told KNSD.

“The parachute malfunctioned, or he didn’t have enough time to deploy properly in the short amount of time,” Capt. Scott Wahl told the station.

A 911 caller reported hearing a “loud pop” like a gunshot, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. He went to a balcony and saw someone bleeding on the street below.

Officers found a man wearing a helmet and a backpack containing an undeployed parachute, KGTV reported. He died despite efforts to try to revive him.

The San Diego medical examiner later identified him as Eric Roden of Cardiff by the Sea, California.

Roden was an experienced BASE jumper, police told KSWB.

The acronym stands for “buildings, antennae, spans and earth, such as cliffs,” which participants parachute off, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The man’s 16-year-old daughter witnessed the fatal fall, police told KNSD.

“As a father of four kids, I cannot imagine what she’s going through at this point,” Wahl told KSWB. “No question that she’s never going to forget those final few moments.”

Security guards told police BASE jumps from the building have been a problem recently.

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Teen sees dad plunge to death in parachute stunt off high-rise, California cops say."