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BASE Jumper Dies
No one ever said hurling yourself off of a cliff with a parachute strapped to your back was a safe way to pass the time, but it is still always rather sad to hear of some person's death at the hands of BASE jumping, the popular, albeit Darwinian Award-winning sport that has made it into several headlines recently and is largely outlawed in the US. This time the guy, a hale and hearty 66 year old fellow named Brian Lee Shubert, fell to his death during a popular festival in West Virginia. Investigators believe the cause was a malfunctioning parachute, as opposed to Shubert just forgetting to open the chute, believing he could fly or his idea of a party trick. Bizarrely, while thousands of people attending the festival witnessed the fatal jump (certainly this will find its way onto YouTube) jumping continued after his body was taken away. Ah, humans.
Filed under: Festivals and Events
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dangerdan Oct 23rd 2006 9:48AM
"Shubert just forgetting to open the chute, believing he could fly or his idea of a party trick."
I do not believe that the unfortunate death of an individual is something to make light of. Perhaps you should considere Shubert's friends and family before making such a statement.
jon Oct 23rd 2006 1:27PM
I think anyone who, at the age of 66, think it was fun to throw yourself off a cliff while wearing a parachute would, y'know, probably have a sense of humour about these things.
John Blake Nov 16th 2006 2:06AM
I don't believe it! People recover so fast from tragedies these days. I witnessed a turkey being butchered in front of me 18 years ago. To this day I cannot bring myself to eat turkey. I tried it once and loved it. But 30 minutes later, I vomited everything. I'm sure base-jumping is exciting and thrilling. But the consequences are far too great for me to ever want to take that risk. Once your paracute fails, there's no turning back. I feel so sad for that man.