Skydiver falls to his death

A Chippewa Falls man fell to his death Friday, August 8 after his skydiving chute made "an abrupt turn" just prior to landing, according to the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department, and the man landed at a 45 degree angle.

Todd Jacobson, 39, was skydiving at Skydive Twin Cities in the afternoon, just west of Baldwin on CTH J. According to the Sheriff's Department, "witnesses at the scene stated that Mr. Jacobson was skydiving with a group. His chute deployed normally, but just prior to landing his chute made an abrupt turn in the air so that Mr. Jacobson was at a 45 degree angle to the ground," causing him to land on his head. The Sheriff's Department release said it is unknown why the abrupt turn was made.

The Sheriff's Department was notified at 2:18 p.m. of an injured person at the scene. Upon arrival, deputies performed CPR on Jacobson. He was then transported to Baldwin Area Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 3:07 p.m.

The Sheriff's Department news release said Jacobson was identified as an experienced skydiver with several thousand jumps to his credit.

According to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Jacobson was a safety and training advisor and videographer for the Skydive Wissota Indianhead Sport Parachute Club. According to that Club's webside, Jacobson had successfully completed 5,200 jumps since 1991.

The St. Croix County Sheriff's Department news release said the death of Jacobson remains under investigation by his office.