Skydiver Dies as 40,000 Look On at Fairplex

To the collective gasps of nearly 40,000 spectators, a veteran skydiver crashed to his death Sunday during opening ceremonies for the National Hot Rod Assn. finals at the Pomona Fairplex.

Lawrence Yohn, 59, a professional skydiver from Perris, died after a gust of wind seemed to catch him, slam him into a track guardrail and then flip him over onto the right lane of the strip, about 40 yards from the starting line.

The accident happened shortly before 11 a.m., while Yohn and three other divers from the Aztec Skydiving Team were making the jump while the national anthem was being played. The stunt was meant to cap a one-hour, 15-minute opening ceremony that featured a parade of vintage cars, guest speakers and other events to open the 35th Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals.

The huge crowd reacted with shock when Yohn hit the ground. Two other divers landed without incident, and a fourth came in fast and was stunned before getting up.

Yohn was transported to the Pomona Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m., a hospital spokesman said.

“It was disturbing,” said one woman spectator from Marina del Rey, who asked not to be named. “It’s not every day that you see somebody die.”

She said most fans didn’t know what eventually happened to the skydiver because no announcement was made about his condition during the race.

“I was curious but I think that news like that would . . . have been a little too sad,” she said. “It’s fine with me if they didn’t say anything.”

As soon as the ambulance departed, the track was prepared for the first run between Scott Kalitta and Don Lampus and the day’s program went on as scheduled.

“There was never a consideration to stop the race,” said Tom Compton, the association’s vice president and general manager. “For one thing, we didn’t know his condition until much later in the day. It was an unfortunate situation that we certainly regret happening.

“Skydivers have been a part of our show a number of times and this was the first time we have had any problems,” said Compton. “We still don’t know exactly what happened. We are all very saddened.”

Fairplex spokesman Sid Robinson said “we’ll work with the NHRA to make certain the investigation continues from here” but added that “at this point, it’s in the NHRA hands.”

Yohn, who was not married and had no children, was a sky-diving instructor at the Perris Airport Sport Parachute Center. He had logged more than 2,500 jumps during his career, team members said.

The fatal accident came two days after another frightening accident at the NHRA Finals, when top fuel dragster driver Doug Herbert’s blower blasted into pieces that struck 14 fans. All of the injured were released from hospitals by Friday night.

It also comes exactly two weeks after 24-year-old racer Greg Moore died of massive head and internal injuries when his car slid across the infield grass and crashed into the inside wall at the Marlboro 500 in Fontana.