Minnesota woman killed in skydiving accident in Arizona, FAA and local authorities investigating

A Minnesotan was killed in a skydiving accident in Arizona on Friday.

According to the Eloy, AZ, Police Department, first responders were called to Skydive Arizona around 4:06 p.m. on Friday on a report of a parachutist “experiencing complications during descent.”

Despite medics trying to save her life, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities identified her as 55-year-old Ann Wick of Minnesota.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation. The FAA confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that it is investigating the packing of the parachutes and rules of flight for the pilot and plane. If it doesn’t find any evidence of violating regulations, it will defer any further investigation to local law enforcement.

The FAA said it does not determine the cause of the accident.

A GoFundMe for Ann’s children can be found HERE. Wick’s family also released the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS:

“Ann was involved in a major car accident at age 20 as a passenger. Among other things, her pelvis was broken, and into her recovery she was told that she could not have children in the future. Her son Charlie was born in 2002 after a difficult pregnancy and birth. We were all holding our breath based on the previous warnings and possible complications that could arise. Charlie was born healthy, and as I mentioned grew up in the area here and 6 months ago enlisted into the U.S. Air Force. He is my godson.

Fast forward to 2003. My sister Ann, my wife, and our younger brother Mike’s wife were literally all pregnant at the same time. We knew we were having a boy, but Ann and our sister-in-law were picking out names for their girls. They were both trying to reserve the namesake of our grandmother on the Italian side, Rosalie Tomasello.

Ann was determined to name her daughter Rosalie and did so. Rosalie is a sweet and kind animal lover just like her mother.

Ann was diagnosed with late stage 3 breast cancer around 2010, she underwent some grueling surgeries and chemo. Ann made a full recovery even as we were preparing for the worst. I think that this being her second major trauma of her life gave her a slightly different risk tolerance than the rest of us.

After raising her children well into their teens, Ann decided to pursue a nursing degree. She felt it was her calling to help others. She also began skydiving around the same time.

Ann was just settling into her career at United herein St. Paul. She was an avid outdoor activities lover. She had completed hundreds of successful jumps. We were just discussing trying to get the families together for a skiing outing, as we had done many times growing up.

We received the devastating news Friday night of her accident and we are all still just in disbelief. We know she earned her angels wings and is looking down on her family and many precious friends.”

Jeff Wallis, Wick’s brother