Skydiver killed, another injured after midair collision in Washington state

U.S. Skydiver killed, another injured after midair collision in Washington state By Emily Mae Czachor Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Emily Mae Czachor May 26, 2026 / 9:19 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google One skydiver was killed and another injured after they collided midair during a jump in Washington state on Saturday, authorities said. The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. local time, as both skydivers participated in "a scheduled group jump" organized by a licensed skydiving company in the city of Ritzville, according to the Adams County Sheriff's Office, which responded to the crash. Eleven people were involved in the group jump, the office said. Ritzville is about 60 miles southwest of Spokane.Authorities identified the skydiver who died as Randy Hubbs, of the Kennewick area, and the one injured as Nicole Klein, of the Colville area. Staff members at the skydiving company and other witnesses said Hubbs appeared to become incapacitated after he and Klein crashed into each other during their descent, and no longer seemed in control of his parachute, the sheriff's office said. The staff said they began to track Hubbs' movements when he reached 500 feet above ground and began to drift away from "the designated drop zone." Witnesses also told authorities that Hubbs appeared to be unresponsive, "with his head and arms down, before disappearing beyond a hill," according to the sheriff's office. Weather conditions did not contribute to the collision, the office said.The sheriff's office said an investigation into the crash is underway and asked anyone with information about it to contact them."We offer our deepest condolences to those impacted by this incident," the office said in a statem...