CHICAGO (AP) — Members of a U.S. Army skydiving team will return to their base where they will have access to counseling after a parachutist from their unit died from injuries suffered during a stunt at the Chicago Air & Water Show, a spokeswoman for the group said.
The Golden Knights demonstration team has been put on a "safety stand down" after the death of Sgt. 1st Class Corey Hood, spokeswoman Donna Dixon said Sunday. The group will head to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where they can meet with chaplains as the Army works to ensure everyone is mentally and physically fit to continue with the show season, she said. The team's performance schedule could be affected.
Hood, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. A day earlier, he collided in midair with a member of the Navy's precision skydiving team during the event along Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline.
Hood, 32, served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and had earned numerous awards, including two Bronze Stars. He had logged more than 200 free fall jumps and 75 military static line jumps during his career, according to his Army biography.
