A veteran skydiver died as groups of onlookers watched in horror as his stunt went horribly wrong just prior to the kickoff of a Tennessee high school football game.
55-year-old Richard Sheffield was a member of a group of professional skydiving performers who lept out of a plane prior to the “Musket Bowl,” which is a yearly rivalry between Daniel Boone and David Crocket high schools out in eastern Tennessee. Shocked onlookers watched as Sheffield dropped straight to the ground just behind the stadium. He was rushed to an area hospital where he was officially pronounced dead.
“The deceased was a highly experienced jumper with decades of experience to their credit and a well-respected member of the skydiving community,” explained Jump TN, the skydiving group based out of Greenville to which Sheffield dove for, in a release to USA Today. “The entire skydiving community is saddened by the sudden loss of a wonderful member of their community.”
Sheffield was a veteran of well over 1,500 jumps, expressed the group. His parachute did deploy but seemingly malfunctioned once he attempted to execute a stunt. Witnesses of the event stated that Sheffield slammed into the ground at an entirely unsafe speed.
Horrifying moment skydiver, 55, crashes to earth and dies while attempting stunt during high school football pre-game show in Tennessee
đź’” https://t.co/WTTO3x3rBB— IntoTheMystic (@Mystic_Sailor) October 23, 2022
Cockett, the home team for the game, has called in this skydiving team previously to carry out pre-game shows for the crowd, and this past Friday’s game was a celebration of two additional events, the opening of a brand new field and Senior Night.
“Since it was David Crockett’s new field, it was their first game, [the] first Musket Bowl on their new field,” stated Tyler Smith, a sophomore of Daniel Boone, to WJHL. “So, I guess they were trying to celebrate it.”
The bowl game continued on as previously planned that evening, with Boone taking a win 35-7 to close the 52nd annual clash of the two schools. In the wake of the game, the community, along with Sheffield’s family, expressed their grief openly via social media.
“Today just doesn’t feel real, and the hardest day of my life,” posted Sheffield’s son Stacey via a Facebook post. “Yesterday we lost one of the most important people in our lives, my Dad. I’m so thankful for the relationship we had. We talked every single day, multiple times a day.”
Stacey, along with his twin brother named Casey, stated that the pair thoroughly enjoyed skydiving with their father and executed their first jump at the young age of 7.
“Being able to skydive with your Dad is another level of cool,” he expressed. “One thing Dad loved the most was going fast, and that’s how he went out.”
“Until we fly again, Dad. I love you. Blue Skies,” expressed the grieving son.
