Robert Joseph D'Errico (1954 - 1985)

Born 4 Jul 1954 in Auburn MA

Ancestors

Died 4 May 1985 at age 30 in Miami, Dade, FL

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dee Christophel D'Errico [send private message]

NOTES:

Bob was the most honest man I ever met, next to my own father. He also was the only guy I ever knew, that if he did something you didn't like, he would actually change his behavior, like magic. He was a thrill seeker, as well. He liked to race cars.....and he liked to sky dive, among other things. He died in a sky diving accident. His ashes were first interred in Vista Memorial Gardens; but, his mother later took them with her when she moved upstate. She has since, passed away, and I have yet to find the final resting place of Bob. However, he will always have a place in my heart.

The Miami Herald 05 May 1985 SKY DIVER FALLS 100 FEET TO DEATH by Louis Feldstein Soto/Herald Staff Writer

An experienced sky diver touched three free-falling friends in mid-air, then plummeted 100 feet to his death Saturday after heavy winds apparently caved in part of his chute over the Everglades, Metro Police said.

Robert D'Errico, a 30-year-old forklift operator nearing his 100th jump, was "floating just fine" about 200 feet from the ground when a corner of the parachute buckled inward, losing 60% of its strength, said Metro Homicide Detective John Butchko.

D'Errico jettisoned the faulty chute, but didn't have enough time to release a reserve chute in his backpack. Even if he had, "it wouldn't have mattered because he was too low, according to other divers out there," Butchko said.

The four divers, all members of the Miami Skydivers, Inc., made the jump together just before 2 p.m. from a Cessna 182 about 9,500 feet high. Among them was D'Errico's brother, Paul, with whom he lived in Miami Springs.

"They all touched hands in a free fall and then engaged their parachutes," Butchko said. "Everything worked fine until D'Errico's malfunctioned." He fell in a patch of bushes and trees at SW 238th Avenue west of 172nd Street.

Butchko said the Dade County Medical Examiner's Office would have an expert inspect the chute.