Skydiver killed in mid-air collision in SoCal feared to be ‘deadly time bomb’

A skydiver who plunged to her death in a horrific mid-air collision in Southern California once feared she was a “deadly time bomb” – a chilling warning discovered in a decade-old blog post.

Georgia Jean, 56, of South Dakota, and Levi Pimentel, 29, of Illinois, were killed Friday after their parachutes tangled during a jump near Lake Elsinore, sending both women crashing to the ground.

Jean, a self-described mystic and former comedian, appeared to foreshadow the tragedy in a 2015 blog post detailing her difficult beginnings in the sport.

The 56-year-old revealed she failed the first level of skydiving training three times before an instructor told her she “just couldn’t skydive”.

But Jean said she eventually overcame her fears, including a nagging worry that she could be a “deadly time bomb.”

“Whether or not my instructor was right about the limitations of my body/mind…I was able to overcome them, AND the incredible fear of being a ‘deadly time bomb’ just waiting to explode,” she wrote.

Jean then took up competitive skydiving, according to her Facebook page, winning a bronze medal with the “First Froth” team in 2024 in a “mixed formation skydiving” event.

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Pimentel, meanwhile, was a seasoned professional who was a lead instructor at iFLY Naperville, an indoor skydiving center in Illinois.

She had been with the company for more than eight years and hosted training camps where she taught aspiring skydivers, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The 29-year-old described herself on Facebook as an “optimist” and “a hopeful with distant hopes and a dreamer of improbable dreams.”

The two women knew each other before the fatal jump. Jean had expressed interest in participating in one of Pimentel’s tunnel camps in 2027, according to an August social media post.

Both were from out of town and apparently made the jump together, according to Skydive Elsinore.

The skydiving company said neither woman suffered a mechanical failure. Both parachutes opened at the intended altitude and no irregularities were reported during their free fall.

The company, which operates in the Inland Empire, said it was devastated by the loss.

“Skydive Elsinore extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the two skydivers, and mourns alongside all those affected,” the company said.

High winds were present at the time, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph. It remains unclear whether conditions played a role in the collision.

The women were approximately 150 feet off the ground when they collided. First responders found both at an airfield suffering from “major traumatic injuries”.

They were rushed to Inland Valley Medical Center, where both were pronounced dead.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified and will recover the parachutes as part of its investigation, according to the Associated Press.