Authorities said a group of skydivers were trying a multiple-person maneuver when one of them, Ken Oka, became entangled with another skydiver. Oka was able to free himself, but according to witnesses, he was already 350 feet from the ground. Oka, a 62-year-old resident of Mira Loma, landed in the backyard of a home in the 19400 block of Sweetwood Lane.
Skydiving was Oka's passion. He had logged more than 5,000 jumps, many of them technical formations in which skydivers hook themselves to the lines of other jumpers.
Lynette Collins, Oka's girlfriend, spent the last 12 years with him. She said they knew the risks of formation jumps.
"You know it's going to happen to someone at some point in time," Collins said. "It doesn't matter if they've had 100 dives or 5,000 dives. It's that one time, one thing, uh-oh and it doesn't matter."
Collins said she takes comfort in knowing that Oka died doing what he loved.
"He was so honest and sweet and caring about not just himself, but he really cared about everybody around him," she said.
CNS contributed to this report.
