DELAND, Fla. (AP) — Military officials say a U.S. Army soldier parachuting over central Florida was blown off course and got tangled into some power lines.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal (http://goo.gl/rlShPo) reports that 33-year-old Carlos Esparza, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was rescued Monday morning about a quarter of a mile from the drop zone at the DeLand Municipal Airport.
Sgt. Maj. Tom Clementson says Esparza is very experienced at free fall and high altitude jumps. He says Esparza and 19 others from a unit attached to the 18th Airborne Corps were training in DeLand.
Emergency workers responding to the scene reported that Esparza was dangling about 20 feet off the ground. Duke Energy workers had to cut the power so DeLand firefighters could bring Esparza down safely.
Clementson says the jump remains under investigation.
