Parachutist hits army band

A skydiver veered off course, disrupting a change of command ceremony at Ft. Riley yesterday morning and injuring himself and three band members.

The parachutist, Scott Hallock, was the second of a pair of civilian skydivers who were part of the official opening ceremonies. The first landed right on target. The second man, however, missed his landing spot and slammed into the last two rows of the Army band, knocking over band members and destroying instruments.

"You can't really hear anything when someone's overhead. Then at the last minute, you could hear some rustling," described WO3 Scott MacDonald. "That's what I heard, 'Oh expletive,' and then crash."



Hallock was going around 50 mph, MacDonald estimated, when he smashed feet-first into the sousaphone and trumpet players.

Sgt. Rachel Boggs was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured jaw and Sgt. Andrew Spinazzola fractured an ankle in the collision, according to Lisa Medrano, a public affairs officer for Irwin Army Community Hospital. Both soldiers sustained other minor head and neck injuries as well. Staff Sgt. Mark Lucero also reportedly suffered a minor leg injury.

Mike Keating of the Fort Riley Fire Department said Hallock sprained his ankle and refused medical treatment. He added that two sousaphones were destroyed.