Skydiver dies after falling onto roof of home, fire officials say

PERRIS, California -- A skydiver was killed Monday afternoon when he fell onto the roof of a home in Perris, officials said.

The incident was reported shortly before 3 p.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

"He hit the roof pretty hard," said witness Ali Muhassen, adding that the man appeared to be unconscious during the freefall. "I don't think that chute did anything to break his fall."

Firefighter-paramedics arrived to find the skydiver on the tiled roof of the two-story house. The unidentified person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coroner's officials and firefighters used a ladder truck to access the roof and removed the body on a stretcher.

The skydiver's primary parachute was apparently visible in the victim's backpack after the crash. What seemed to be his orange emergency chute was seen on the rooftop. Muhassen said it had deployed shortly before the impact, to no avail.

Christina Blanco was inside the home at the time of the incident.

"I was in complete shock," she said. "I was like, no, this can't be happening. And then it took so long for us to find out if he was OK or not, just waiting. My heart just dropped when they were like, no, he's not OK."