Long Island Native Dies In Skydiving Accident

A 25-year old Long Island native was killed in a skydiving accident in Florida while making his 85th jump, according to media reports. The incident occurred Sunday around 4:20 p.m.

Joshua Butzke made the fatal jump at Skydive City, a parachuting center at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, the Connecticut Post reported. Skydive City officials said Butzke, who lived in Norwalk, Conn., jumped from the plane at about 13,500 feet and his parachute opened about 3,500 feet from the ground.

Officials said Butzke's parachute began to spiral somewhere between 1,000 feet and 800 feet from the ground, causing him to fall hard, according to the Connecticut Post. He was subsequently taken to East Pasco Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Officials said Butzke was on his second day of skydiving with the center, where he had already jumped 13 times over the course of two days, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He was a licensed skydiver, having obtained his license in New York in 2017.

Butzke worked in Connecticut as a financial planner for three years, and was born and raised in Port Jefferson Station, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He attended Comsewogue High School and was on the soccer team at Bucknell University.

Butzke's sister, Eva Wein, told the New York Post that her brother “traveling and experiencing things."

"He lived for his family," Wein said. "Nothing in the world was more important to him.”

Image via Bucknell University

Story by RJ Scofield, Patch Staff