21-year-old woman critically injured in DeLand skydiving incident

Police ID victim as Samantha Smith

Skydive DeLand.

DeLAND, Fla. – A 21-year-old DeLand woman was critically injured Wednesday when she suffered a hard landing while skydiving in Volusia County, according to officials.

DeLand police said Samantha Smith suffered a hard landing near Skydive DeLand at the DeLand Municipal Airport.

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Smith was airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Police said Thursday morning that she was in critical but stable condition.

Witnesses told officers that Smith’s parachute was fully deployed before she attempted to make a turn, but she was unable to fully stabilize herself before bouncing off a gravel walkway and landing 15 feet away, according to authorities.

Police said Smith was an experienced jumper who had executed six successful jumps earlier in the day.

Officials initially said Smith was 20 years old.