Skydiving Accident

Quadriplegic Dies In Skydiving Accident: When Should Boundaries To Dreams Be Drawn?

The tragic death of a quadriplegic in a skydiving accident, Jack Fogel, has raised a number of questions about the dreams of the disabled and if they should be undertaken or not. Being only 27 years old, Jack has had previous experience in skydiving, even though he became a quadriplegic during his teen years as the result of being hit by a car. To many people, it may seem that Fogel was obstinate rather than determined to become a professional skydiver. He did, after all, rack up 125 jumps in five years time. He even had a custom made parachute that would allow him to open it while he was skydiving. But this skydive, which occurred in Idaho along with other professional skydivers at the Lost Prairie Boogie event which took place near the city of Marion. The accident investigators claim that Fogel did not properly set up a device that would have automatically deployed his reserve parachute, after watching a video of the stunt. While his family is no doubt devastated over the accident '" reports say he fell at the speed of 120 miles per hour from a height of 18, 000 feet, unable to activate the parachute corn in time before he fell '" one must ask if this sort of activity was at all suitable, or even smart, for this young man to undertake in the first place.