Rough Landing for a Flying Elvi : Parachutist Bruises Still-Loyal Fan

Ten Elvis impersonators--known to the movie-going public as the Flying Elvi--descended from the sky Friday in white jumpsuits, red scarves and sideburns, in a parachute performance before an appreciative crowd.

One of the Elvi landed on Dianna Berrena, 49, of Whittier, whose posterior was slightly bruised but whose love for Elvis remained unabated. “It was worth it,” she said.

Berrena was among several thousand Elvis fans who crowded in and around Calico Square at Knott’s Berry Farm to watch a performance by the Flying Elvi, the group that gained attention in the movie “Honeymoon in Vegas.”

Jumping from a plane at 12,500 feet and braving gusty 15-knot winds, two Elvi landed feet first on a large white target; two landed in a reflecting pool and had to do a quick costume change, and the rest managed to land safely elsewhere in the park.

Well, except for Roger Foster of Las Vegas, who accidentally landed on Berrena.

“I tried pulling her out of the way, but he was just too quick,” said Berrena’s husband, Dennis. “He (Foster) tried real hard to make it a miss, but he just couldn’t make it.”

“I was really jealous when he hit that lady,” said Yolanda McPeck, 25, of Anaheim, noting she is looking for an Elvis impersonator to marry. “I wanted it to be me.”