BASE Jumper Dies During West Virginia Festival

Tragedy struck West Virginia's annual Bridge Day Festival yesterday when a man's parachute opened too late during a jump from the New River Gorge Bridge. Thousands of onlookers let out a gasp of horror as they realized that the chute of Brian Lee Schubert, 66, didn't open until he was about 25 feet above the water. Mr. Shubert died of injuries suffered when he hit the New River, 876 feet below the bridge.

The annual Bridge Day Festival is a popular event attracting an estimated 100,000 spectators and about 400 parachutists each year. The festival is the only time when the National Park Service, which operates the New River Gorge National River area, allows people to parachute off the New River Gorge Bridge - the world's second largest single span bridge. Only experienced skydivers are allowed to participate. The fatality is the first (and hopefully last) in the history of the the festival.