BASE jumper's death revives debate
By Sandy Miller
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS -- The death of a BASE jumper Thursday afternoon has reignited debate about whether local officials should regulate or outlaw jumping from the Perrine Bridge.
Meanwhile, the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Department Friday identified the jumper as 30-year-old Jason John Corcoran of Wexford, Pa.
Nancy Howell, public information officer and victims' coordinator for the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Department, said Corcoran was one of a group of seven jumpers visiting Idaho from Pennsylvania. Witnesses said Corcoran had attempted a forward back flip and deployed his "pilot" chute, but the main chute did not open.
BASE is an acronym for building, antenna, span and earth. The extreme sports enthusiasts jump with parachutes from tall structures, and the 486-foot drop from the Perrine Bridge is a favorite of jumpers from around the world. It's the only bridge in the country where people are allowed to BASE jump year-round.
This was the third fatality to result from BASE jumping in Twin Falls County. The last fatality was in June 2002, when 24-year-old Brian Stout of Gilbert, Ariz., fell to his death. Another jumper was killed in February 2000 while jumping from the Hansen Bridge.
At other locations across the country, BASE jumping has either been outlawed or restricted.
Fayetteville, W.Va., will hold its annual BASE jumping event today and tomorrow, the only two days of the year that people are allowed to BASE jump off the New River Gorge Bridge. All jumpers will have to sign waivers which free the county and state from any liability should they be injured or killed. The waivers also include questions about experience, equipment and swimming ability as well as an emergency contact number, said Paul H. Roberts, a BASE jumper and military paratrooper.
Roberts, who has been parachuting for 30 years and says he was one of the first to BASE jump off the Perrine Bridge in 1989, said Twin Falls and Jerome counties would be wise to sit up and take notice from officials in Fayetteville.
"I don't want to ban it. I want it regulated," Roberts said.
BASE jumpers pump thousands of dollars into the local economy. Kent Just, executive of the Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, estimated that jumpers bring at least $250,000 to local businesses each year.
But Roberts questioned that way of thinking.
"These guys around here are being blind in one eye about this," Roberts said. "Sure, it draws in revenue, but what about a lawsuit?"
So far, there's never been a lawsuit stemming from a death or accident of a Perrine Bridge BASE jumper. But that could soon change.
Wayne Stout of St. George, Utah, said hearing of Corcoran's death convinced him he needs to sue the state of Idaho for the death of his son, Brian, last year.
He said if BASE jumping off the Perrine Bridge had been regulated, it would have been discovered that his son did not have the correct gear configuration for doing the coordinated jump with seven other BASE jumpers.
"My son's death could have been prevented," Stout said in a phone interview Friday. "The state of Idaho is a contributing factor in my son's death. There's a two-year window, and my plans are to sue the state of Idaho. My son should not be dead."
Twin Falls County Sheriff Wayne Tousley said he has no problem with BASE jumpers as long as they're not causing traffic problems.
"As long as they're not hindering traffic on the bridge, they're not breaking any law," Tousley said. "If I regulate BASE jumping, am I going to regulate rock climbing and whitewater rafting?"
Jim Guyer of Overland Park, Kan., doesn't intend to stop BASE jumping anytime soon. Guyer, who is 75 years old, made 10 jumps from the Perrine Bridge in August and several jumps the previous year as well.
"It can't be very dangerous if an old guy like me can frequently make BASE jumps without injury," Guyer wrote in a letter to the editor in today's Times-News.
But Roberts said it doesn't matter how many jumps you've made. There will always be risks involved.
"There are no experts," Roberts said. "Anyone who tells you that is a liar or a fool."
Stout agreed. Out of the eight jumpers who performed that coordinated jump off Perrine Bridge with his son, three are dead. Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne, a deputy state medical examiner from Portland, Ore., who had tried to save Brian's life, was killed just two weeks later in a BASE jump from "The Nose" -- a 1,300-foot cliff in the Lauterbrunnen Valley in central Switzerland. Then just last weekend, BASE jumper Dwain Weston was killed jumping off Royal Gorge Bridge in Canyon City, Colo., Stout said.
"It's not only an extreme sport, it's a dangerous extreme sport," Stout said. "If I have my way, I'm going to do something about it."
Stout said he feels sadness for Corcoran's family.
"I know what this family will go through," Stout said. "I'm still going though it. Brian was a good person, and he was happy about life. I miss him every day."
Times-News writer Sandy Miller can be reached at 735-3264 or by e-mail at smiller@magicvalley.com.
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