Extreme sports athlete and MTV reality star Erik Roner died after a skydiving accident near Lake Tahoe, California, on Monday, TheWrap has learned. He was 39 years old.
Roner was part of Nitro Circus, an action sports collective which has had its own reality show on MTV for two seasons. He was also the host of “Locals,” a travel show on sports-focused satellite network Outside Television.
“There are no words that can express this tremendous loss to the Outside Television family. Erik was not only a colleague, but also a personal friend, and it was a joy to watch him celebrate life on a daily basis. We are still trying to process this tragedy,” Rob Faris, Senior VP, Programming and Production at Outside Television, said in a statement.
“Our hearts go out to his family,” he continued.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, Roner was a member of a small four-man team of parachuters jumping as part of the opening ceremonies of the Fourth Annual Squaw Valley Institute Celebrity Golf Tournament on Monday, Roner descended into the drop zone but was off target and hit a large tree.
He was suspended by his chute 25-30 feet off the ground for at least 40 minutes until emergency crews could reach him, skier’s magazine Powder reported. Roner was then transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Roner had been sky diving and BASE jumping since 2000. He was one of the pioneers of ski BASE jumping and had been featured in several ski films.
Roner is survived by his wife, Annika, and two young children.
In honor of the action sports star, Outside Television will air “Locals” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 7 p.m. ET through 11 p.m. ET.
See a 2014 YouTube video of Roner recreating a scene from “Up” by tying 90 helium balloons to himself below.