This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake City man died in a New Year's Eve skydiving accident in Arizona.
Ronald Mazzola Jr., 37, was skydiving Thursday night above Eloy, a city about 65 miles southeast of Phoenix, when a witness reported seeing his parachute collapse, according to the Eloy City Police Department. At the time of the collapse, Mazzola was still about 100 feet from the ground.
Emergency responders arrived to find bystanders performing CPR on Mazzola, who was about 100 feet east of the main landing area of Skydive Arizona, a business near 4900 N. Taylor Drive. The responders took over trying to save Mazzola's life, but he died at the scene.
"Mazzola was an experienced skydiver," according to a police department news release. "He is reported to have over nine years of experience, having participated in over 800 jumps, with 40 in the previous six months."
Mazzola's parachute was collected and will be turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration for inspection. Both the FAA and the Eloy police will investigate Mazzola's death.
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