An unfortunate BASE jumping incident over the weekend claimed the lives of two individuals in a Utah canyon, including a renowned daredevil who famously shared the stage with Madonna during the 2012 Super Bowl, officials have reported.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office in Utah identified one of the deceased as Andy Lewis, a prominent figure in the world of extreme sports. Lewis was celebrated for his daring exploits in BASE jumping, a high-risk activity where participants leap from towering structures or natural formations, deploying a parachute to reach the ground safely.
According to a social media update by Aerial Arts Moab, an acrobatics company that described Lewis as a “co-owner and best friend,” the tragic accident occurred during a tandem jump, where two individuals are secured together in a single harness.
Lewis also founded BASE Jump Moab, a company offering tandem jumps to those new to the sport, allowing them to experience the thrill while harnessed to an experienced guide equipped with a parachute. The company’s promotional videos showcase duos stepping off massive cliffs, experiencing a brief freefall before their parachutes deploy.
Within the BASE jumping community, Lewis was both admired and respected for his audacious approach, often challenging conventions by attempting jumps through narrow gaps or delaying parachute deployment beyond what others would consider safe. John McEvoy, a fellow BASE jumping instructor from Twin Falls, Idaho, who had jumped with Lewis, noted his reputation for such bold endeavors.
“He had an incredible level of athleticism and skill that was developed over years of practice,” McEvoy said. “But then he would take an incredible amount of risk.”
Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins confirmed the other person who was killed was Danny Joe Kregle, a 68-year-old father and grandfather who was described by a family member as an accomplished businessman.
“Danny had a wonderful sense of humor and was always looking for ways to make people laugh,” relative Sydney Laverty told The Times-Independent. “One of his greatest joys was performing magic tricks alongside his granddaughter.”
Lewis’ other sport made him an overnight celebrity, thanks to Madonna
Lewis was also a prominent figure in the niche sports of slacklining and tricklining, which combine elements of high-wire walking with aerial acrobatics — sometimes at perilous heights.
He went from obscure athlete to overnight celebrity when he appeared onstage in Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Dressed in a Roman toga, Lewis bounced and executed tricks on his inch-wide line like it was a trampoline while Madonna sang behind him.
“My phone actually rang itself to death three days in a row,” Lewis said soon afterward in an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night show.
Emergency responders were dispatched Sunday to a report of people injured in a BASE jumping attempt at Mineral Bottom, a remote desert area near the Utah-Colorado line, according to the sheriff’s office.
BASE jumping is far more dangerous than skydiving
Though there’s no official tally of BASE jumping deaths, a list compiled by the website BASEaddict.com shows 540 total fatalities worldwide since 1981 — including 30 people killed last year. Prominent deaths include BASE jumper Dean Potter and his climbing partner, Graham Hunt, who were killed in 2015 while attempting a wingsuit flight in California’s Yosemite National Park.
A study focused on BASE jumping in Norway, published in a medical journal in 2007, estimated that BASE jumping carried risks of injury or death five to eight times greater than skydiving.
Lewis openly acknowledged the sport’s inherent danger.
“It’s weird to think about how many people are dead, because it’s like a normal thing,” Lewis told documentary filmmaker Ella Warnick in an interview published last year.
Tandem BASE jumping carries additional risk because it straps together two people, one of whom generally lacks experience, under a single parachute, McEvoy said. But because they involve novices, they also tend to be the most low-risk, basic types of jumps.
“Within BASE, it’s a very controversial topic,” McEvoy said. “There’s a lot of people who say it’s the stupidest thing in the world and others arguing: `No, we’re giving people the experience of their lives.’”
No one immediately returned phone, text and Facebook messages left Monday for BASE Jump Moab.
Lewis won four straight world championships in competitive slacklining from 2008 through 2011. Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
In 2014, he walked a slackline suspended between two hot air balloons more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above the Nevada desert.