OTTAWA, ILLINOIS — Two skydivers jumped from a plane and crashed mid-air at Summerfest Skydiving Festival at the Skydive Chicago resort in Ottawa.
CBS 2 reported on the death-defying clash.
The two seasoned skydivers collided around 11:00 a.m on Tuesday morning, resulting in one of them, 81-year-old Bill Morrisey, being knocked unconscious.
Morrisey was falling fast towards the earth, but fortunately for him, he was wearing an automated activation device inside a parachute pack.
So, what's an automated activation device?
Anthony Ebel of Skydive Chicago says it best, "Essentially, it's just a device that measures how fast the person is falling and what altitude they're at — once they hit a certain threshold, it then starts the deployment process of the reserve parachute."
The life-saving device opened his chute, bringing him gently back to earth alive and still kicking.
U.S News stated that as he was unable to steer, he landed in the Fox River.
Both jumpers were taken to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center and miraculously both were fine bar minor injuries.
Morrissey, who has jumped more than 7,000 times spanning 62 years, said: "I wear an automated activation device because that's what common sense tells you to do."
