Skydiver was ‘thrill-seeker’

September 23, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

By MICHAEL SANGIACOMO

Plain Dealer Reporter

Sierra Ann Thomas loved BMX racing, dirt bikes, soccer and baseball and last week mustered the courage to add one more hobby to her life — skydiving.

On the spur of the moment, she made her first parachute jump Saturday. It proved tragic.

Thomas, 22, of Brunswick, was killed along with her instructor, Daniel Mathie, 30, when the parachute failed to open at the Cleveland Parachute Club in Parkman Township.

Her sister, Season Snider of Akron, said the family is devastated by the loss of the youngest child.

“Sierra was a thrill-seeker, that’s for sure,” she said. “She had said that skydiving was something she always wanted to do. She just decided to do it on Saturday and brought her brother along with her to watch.

“She said she was a little scared, but then that’s how you get the adrenaline rush,” Snider said.

Thomas and Mathie did a tandem jump in a specially designed parachute built for two people, a common first jump for new trainees, Portage County Sheriff David Doak said.

The two leaped out of the plane at 9,500 feet, but when Mathie pulled the main parachute, it failed to open completely, possibly due to tangled cords, Doak said.

Mathie and Thomas then started to spiral under the partially opened parachute and quickly picked up speed.

Mathie did not release the emergency parachute, which would have required him to jettison the main parachute, Doak said.

“He may have been unable to jettison the main canopy, or perhaps he was unable to reach the emergency chute,’” Doak said. “We’re still investigating.”

The pair landed along Ohio 88 in Nelson Township.

Mathie, of Boardman, had thousands of jumps to his credit and had been a parachuting enthusiast since he was 17.

Thomas was a graduate of Highland High School in Medina and was studying to be a pharmacist.

She was in the process of moving from Brunswick to Norton to live with her mother. The two worked together as home health-care providers.

Thomas is survived by her 2-year-old son, Kaiden Bazdar, a sister and three brothers.

Contributions to the Sierra Thomas Memorial Fund may be made at any KeyBank branch.