A 59 year-old woman from Florida was killed in a skydiving accident in upstate New York on Saturday, with police saying that her parachute malfunctioned.
“On July 24, 2021 shortly after 9:00 a.m. New York State Police responded to a report of a fatal skydiving incident in the area of County Highway 34 in the town of Westford,” police said in a statement. “A preliminary investigation revealed that a Karen Bernard, age 59 of Wildwood, FL jumped out of a plane to skydive when it appears she had a malfunction with her parachute. The investigation continues.”
Bernard’s brother Terry took to Facebook to confirm her death and pay tribute to her.
“It is with a sad heart that I need to notify you, her family and friends that Karen passed away Saturday July 24th in a skydiving related accident,” he wrote, according to Fox News. “She was doing the things she loved to do. At this time there are no services planned. Please refrain from asking any questions at this time because we don’t have any answers and we’re not monitoring her page. We’re all pretty numb and in disbelief. Thank you for your understanding.”
Social media users have had mixed reactions to Bernard’s death.
“I explain to my 6 year old daughter almost every day about risk / reward. Call me boring but I see no need to jump out of an airplane unless it is going to crash,” one user commented, with another adding, “Skydiving, bungee jumping, base jumping….gotta love that thrill-seeking. Myself, I prefer to wake up in the morning, see the sunrise & look forward to another birthday.”
Others were disturbed by the flippant attitude some people had about her passing.
“You think the end of her life is something to use to make a lame joke about?” commented one user. “Please think again about what you just did, and imagine it was your wife, or sister, or mother who suffered this terrifying death.”
“There are worst ways to go. I feel badly for her family though,” another user commented. “Anytime you jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, there is always a risk involved obviously. RIP brave lady.”
Comments are closed.