Man Died ‘on Impact’ After Parachute Failed to Open While He Was BASE Jumping Off Canyon, Sister Says

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Police say 33-year-old Weston Huff died while trying to BASE jump in Utah.

• Huff died immediately after falling from Rock Canyon, according to his sister

• “He was risking his life with his own hands,” his mother said

A 33-year-old man died while trying to BASE jump in Utah, authorities said.

In a news release shared with PEOPLE, the Provo Police Department said first responders were called to Rock Canyon around 12:50 local time on Saturday, March 21, for a report of a man falling into an area known as the “Bad Banana.”

“Unfortunately, the male did not survive the fall,” police said.

Detectives identified the victim as Weston Huff, 33, of American Fork, Utah. Police added that Huff embarked on the adventure alone but was an “experienced paratrooper.”

“It appears he was jumping from the top of the canyon and probably suffered a parachute malfunction,” officials said. he added. “We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Weston Huff.”

A spokesperson for the Provo Police Department tells PEOPLE that the investigation into the incident will remain open until the medical examiner submits his report.

The victim’s mother, Trina Preece, told the NBC affiliate that Huff had experience in paragliding and BASE jumping, as well as being a certified tandem paragliding instructor. KSL.

“People are putting their lives in his hands,” he said. “And when no one else was around, he was risking his life at his own hands.”

The family noted that Huff was diagnosed with Tourette and Asperger syndrome.

“Weston has been through a lot of hardships, things that we can share or things that he definitely won’t share, things that are very painful, traumas, things that he may have suffered from,” Preece told the outlet.

“So for someone like that to have a package of goodness and kindness and love, I mean, a lot of people walk away from difficult experiences exhausted and hardened,” he continued.

His family also told KSL that Huff lived to fly, and the place their loved one had jumped before was Rock Canyon.

“According to one of the people there, he pulled the cord and his parachute did not fully expand and he died on impact,” Huff’s sister, Kalli Bistrattin Machado, told KSL. “And there were people who came running when they saw this and switched to CPR for 10 to 15 minutes until emergency services arrived and pronounced him dead.”

A. GoFundMe Created on behalf of Huff’s family

“Weston had a special bond with all of his family members, especially his mother, Trina, who brought him into this world 33 years ago despite all the adversities they faced,” the organizer wrote in the description of the fundraiser.

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“Weston came into this world the same way and left the same way: flying, free and loving,” the organizer added.

PEOPLE contacted the GoFundMe organizer on Tuesday, March 24, but did not immediately receive a response.

Read the original article People