Navy SEAL killed in Fleet Week parachute accident identified
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A Navy SEAL who fell to his death when his parachute failed to open during a Fleet Week demonstration over the Hudson River has been identified as a 27-year-old Colorado man.
The accident that killed Remington J. Peters occurred Sunday at Liberty State Park, a large New Jersey park across from Manhattan where people catch ferries to see the Statue of Liberty.
Peters, whose identity was revealed late Monday, was a member of an elite Navy parachute team called the Leap Frogs. He was a role model who will be "painfully missed," his family said in a statement released by the U.S. Navy.
"He was an angel on earth and role model to all," the statement said. "We couldn't have been more proud of him. He lived life to the fullest and taught us to do the same."
The cause of the parachute malfunction that killed Peters is under investigation.
Peters was among four parachutists who drifted down from two helicopters. The Navy said he was pulled from the water by the U.S. Coast Guard. His parachute landed in a parking lot.
A witness, Bjoern Kils, told CBS New York he was on his boat about 100 feet away when other members of the Leap Frogs team landed safely.
"As they were landing out of the corner of my eye, I saw a splash and I heard a very distinct thump," he said. "It's terrible; very disturbing; very sad."
The Navy Region Mid-Atlantic commander, Rear Adm. Jack Scorby, asked for prayers "for the Navy SEAL community."