Kenneth Bernek of Waterford was an avid skydiver. (Facebook photo)
An experienced suburban skydiver performing a routine jump this weekend got into trouble on his way to a landing zone.
Kenneth Bernek of Waterford lost control, clipped a tree and then fell on a spectator in the northern Macomb County community of Ray Township, authorities tell the Macomb Daily. The 34-year-old recreational parachutist died.
The accident occurred around 6:20 p.m. Saturday as Midwest Freefall Sport Parachute Club members jumped onto a grass airstrip on Kunstman Road near Romeo Plank Road, reporter Mitch Hotts reports, quoting a state police media release.
The female victim, an unnamed 53-year-old Ray Township woman, was treated at a hospital for non-serious injuries and was expected to be released, according to Lt.. Michael Shaw of the Michigan State Police.
“They run a pretty good club over there," Assistant Fire Chief Cecil Schoenherr of the township tells Hotts. "But anytime you’re jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 feet, you’re taking a risk.”
