Wellesley High graduate dies in skydiving accident
A skydiver who grew up in Wellesley and lived in Boston was killed during a jump in California this week after trying earlier in the day to set a parachuting record at a charity event, friends and officials said.
Stephen Millard Harrington, 40, a graduate of Wellesley High School, was pronounced dead Wednesday after landing in a driveway in Murrieta, Calif., about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
‘‘Steve was an experienced skydiver and wingsuiter, with over 3000 jumps,’’ said his husband, Adam Wright. ‘‘He was a wonderful, caring, loving husband. We are completely devastated by the loss of Steve.’’
Harrington died during a late-afternoon jump he made for fun with four other skydivers, the Associated Press reported. Hours before that, he had taken part in a successful jump by 68 people trying to set a US record for formations of parachutists wearing wingsuits — special jumpsuits with panels stretching under the arms and between the legs that allow skydivers to stay longer in free fall and provide greater maneuverability.
The jump raised $5,000 for a Los Angeles charity, said Eli Bolotin of Raise the Sky, a nonprofit group based in Massachusetts that sponsored the event.
The jump was expected to be officially certified as a record by the United States Parachute Association, he added.
Wright said Harrington text-messaged him after the record breaking jump to say he was excited about breaking a record. During the later, fatal jump, Harrington may have struck the tail of the plane, Wright said.
‘‘There was a laceration on his chin — and so, it was probably his chin that hit the plane and it probably knocked him unconscious, although that’s not clear,’’ Wright said.
Harrington, an experienced skydiver, spent months preparing for the event.
‘‘Skydiving in general was very important to him and he was a very charitable person,’’ Wright said.
A website for Flock University, a wingsuit school based on the East Coast, identified Harrington as a cofounder who began skydiving on a whim with his twin brother in 1991. After drifting away from skydiving, Harrington discovered wingsuiting and "it just made me feel alive again," the website quoted him as saying.
Harrington was an IT professional at Wellington Management Company for 12 years. In addition to Wright, his partner of 10 years, he leaves behind his twin brother Parker, two other brothers Fred and Jonathan, his mother Charlotte, and father Skip.
‘‘He will be missed terribly,’’ said Wright. ‘‘He is loved by everyone that knows him’’
Town Correspondent Caitlin Castello contributed to this report. She can be reached at caitlincastello@gmail.com.
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