69-year-old skydiver plunges to death in Florida front yard

Police on Florida’s east coast are investigating the death of a 69-year-old skydiver, whose body was found in the front yard of a home in Titusville, Fla., Saturday.

The man, identified Monday as Frederick C. Morello of Ormond Beach, was found dead, wearing skydiving attire and gear, about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Titusville Police Department.

CBS News reported a surveillance camera from a neighboring home caught the reflection from a parked SUV in which the skydiver was seen falling from the sky before landing on the lawn.

James Sconiers told local TV station WKMG it was his yard in which the man landed.

“I was asking the person that was laying on the ground, ‘Hey man can you hear me, can you hear me?’ But he did not answer,” Sconiers told the television station.

Nicole Lacount also spoke with the TV station and said she went outside after hearing fire trucks and saw Morello’s body on the ground.

“I work in the medical field. That’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” she said.

WKMG contacted the nearby Skydive Space Center and asked if Morello came from their company. They declined comment.

Sconiers, who told WKMG he was a Vietnam veteran with airborne experience, said the incident raised what are thus far unanswered questions.

“Look at the video and look at what happened. Why did he fall so hard if all the safety mechanism in place? Something tells me there’s a problem there,” he said.