Tahitian man killed in Southern California skydiving accident

A Tahitian man killed in a skydiving accident while visiting Southern California last week has been identified. The May 28 incident occurred around 2:30 p.m., with Skydive Perris saying in a statement that two of the three experienced skydiving friends visiting from overseas, all of whom were using their own parachutes and gear, likely had a midair collision during freefall. Crews with the Riverside County Fire Department responded to reports of a traumatic injury in the 600 block of East Ellis Avenue. Pascal Pierre Petein, 57, a resident of Punaauia, Tahiti, was found deceased on the east side of the 215 Freeway. A second skydiver, who has not been identified, was found on the west side of the freeway and rushed to the hospital in critical condition. His current condition is unknown. The third friend involved in the jump was found uninjured, with Skydive Perris officials adding that all three jumpers “landed under good parachutes.” An investigation into the accident remains ongoing by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The tragedy comes less than two years after an Aug. 2024 incident that claimed the lives of skydiving instructor Devrey LaRiccia Chase, 28, and her tandem student Kayla Kieko Black, 28, at the Skydive Perris jump zone after being caught in a pair of “dust devils,” small rotating columns of air that resemble tornadoes. “She missed the first one, and when she maneuvered around it, she hit the second one,” Freddy Chase, Devrey’s husband, told KTLA at the time. “At that point, she was about 25 to 30 feet in the air, it sent her canopy in a downward spiral.” With no time left to react, both Devrey and Kayla slammed into the ground. The two were rushed to a local hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries just two days apart.