New Hampshire Navy SEAL Dies In Skydiving Accident
CONCORD, N.H. (CBS/AP) -- A 31-year-old Navy SEAL has died after making a hard landing during a skydiving exercise in central Florida.
William "Blake" Marston of Concord, New Hampshire, died Saturday morning after landing on the grounds of a DeLand airport, where he was doing the training exercise.
Police said after he was found on the ground unconscious and with a broken leg, he was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. A witness told police that something flew off his parachute as he was in free fall between 40 to 60 feet above ground.
New Hampshire U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte and Gov. Maggie Hassan said Marston, who was in the Navy for six years, served the country with honor and courage.
While the accident is under investigation, those who knew Marston are mourning his loss.
As a high school student at Derryfield School in New Hampshire, Marston threw eight no-hitters. He played second base at Stonehill College, where coach Pat Boen said in his 18 years of coaching, Marston was one of the best he's ever seen.
"He was a tremendous athlete," Boen told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "There was no challenge that was too big for Blake."
Boen said Marston always pushed his teammates, and that made him a good fit for the Navy SEALs.
"That's something he wanted to do, that's something I'm sure he was great at because he was always hard working," Boen said.
Annie Branch, a spokeswoman for Derryfield School, said Marston would volunteer with the Special Olympics.
"As well as being a very good baseball player on the Derryfield team, he was also committed to community service," she said.
The school said that Marston "expected the best from not only himself, but his teammates, and others saw that carried into his military career."
Hassan said she was also mourning Marston's death.
"Blake Marston represented the very best of New Hampshire's long tradition of service, dedicating himself to protecting his fellow citizens and defending the enduring concept of freedom that is our very core," Hassan said in a statement.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports:
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