Chutist Dies in Nighttime Jump From Office Tower

A veteran sky diver was fatally injured early Sunday in what police said was an illegal parachute jump from atop a Century City high-rise office building. He slammed into the structure at least three times on his plunge.

Police identified the victim as Richard Allen Pedley Sr., 57, of Walnut. He was among a group of parachutists who jumped from the building at about 1:30 a.m., Los Angeles police said.

Pedley fell 12 to 15 stories before landing on another structure adjacent to the 40-story building, which was under construction at 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Police Sgt. Lee Bradford said. Pedley was flown to UCLA Medical Center, where he died later.

Apparently three other parachutists made the jump successfully before Pedley’s fatal jump, police said.

Pedley’s son, Richard Allen Pedley Jr., 22, also of Walnut, not one of the parachutists, was arrested by a security guard and booked at the West Los Angeles Division station for investigation of trespassing. He was released on his own recognizance, Lt. Lee Carter said.

The victim was well known in sky diving circles, but had relatively little experience with the nuances of jumping from fixed objects.

“Pedley had thousands of jumps from from aircraft,” said Jean K. Boenish, executive Director of BASE, a base-jumping parachutists’ group which--unlike sky diving groups--includes chutists who leap from fixed objects such as bridges, skyscrapers, antenna towers and towering earth formations.

Boenish, 29, of Hawthorne, said that Pedley, although affiliated with her group, was “new to base jumping,” with less than 10 jumps from fixed objects.

Boenish said she was briefed Sunday on the fatal accident by individuals familiar with what occurred at the Century City site. Pedley’s parachute, she said, “opened backwards,” swinging the victim into the building, instead of away from it.

“I know he hit it (the structure) at least three times,” she said. “It was more than likely a packing error.”

The three other parachutists who preceded Pedley came to his aid and then called for medical help, she said. They were gone by the time police arrived.

Pedley’s son, who could not be reached for comment, did not parachute off the building, Boenish said.

“I’ve known (the senior) Pedley for about 10 years,” she said. “We used to jump together in Perris,” a Riverside County community popular with sky divers. “He and I were in the same field of free-fall photography.”

In 1981, Boenish’s husband, Carl, an internationally famous sky-diving photographer, successfully jumped off a 54-story building in downtown Los Angeles.

Three years later, Carl Boenish was killed, at the age of 43, in a parachute jump from a 5,600-foot Norwegian peak. Two days after his fatal accident, his wife, Jean, scaled the same mountain and made a successful jump.

Most jumps off buildings and other fixed structures generally go unreported in the media, Jean Boenish said.

“There are about 100 a year in Los Angeles. They’re done with frequency,” she said.

Police said it is a misdemeanor to jump from buildings in Los Angeles without a permit.

People who jump from buildings, Boenish said, “try to keep as low a profile as possible. That’s why it’s usually done at night.”