2 skydivers ‘OK’ after colliding midair, knocking 1 unconscious, in Ottawa

Two skydivers are “OK” after they collided midair Tuesday and one of them was knocked unconscious in rural Ottawa.

The Ottawa Fire Department responded about 11:05 a.m. to a call of a midair collision of skydivers at Skydive Chicago in the 3000 block of East 1969th Road, the fire department said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Skydive Chicago said one of the two licensed skydivers was knocked unconscious in the collision. The person’s “automatic activation device” deployed the parachute and the person landed safely, according to the spokesperson, who said the skydivers were both “OK.”

One skydiver landed at the airport at Skydive Chicago, while the other landed in the Fox River north of Dayton Dam, the department said.

Both men were taken for evaluation to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa, where their conditions had stabilized, according to Ottawa Fire Dept. Deputy Chief Brian Bressner.

Ottawa is about 70 miles west of Chicago.