There are conflicting reports on the cause of death of a skydiver

Staff report

NEW SPRINGFIELD

There are conflicting reports as to what caused the death of a 65-year-old Saxonburg, Pa., man while skydiving.

The Mahoning County Coroner’s office identified the man Monday as Robert P. McQuiston and said he was an experienced skydiver.

McQuiston was skydiving at Skydive Rick’s about 1 p.m. Sunday when his parachute didn’t open.

The coroner’s office said it has “conflicting witness accounts” that either McQuiston’s leg was caught in the parachute lines, “implying that he fell to his death. Others report the possibility of a cardiovascular event that left Mr. McQuiston unconscious as his emergency parachute deployed.”

Few injuries are noted in the emergency room records of St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital, where McQuiston was taken after the accident, according to the coroner’s office.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

An investigation into the death is ongoing.

Rick Kuhns, who owns Skydive Rick’s, said the man had jumped before, years earlier in the military. The victim was taking lessons at the school, and Sunday was his first jump with the business.

It was the first time, Kuhns said, that anyone died during a jump at his business, which he’s operated with his wife, Kay, for 36 years.