Gloucester County skydiver death determined to be accidental

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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A skydiver died in an accident Sunday afternoon in Gloucester County.

It happened around 5 p.m. in Williamstown, N.J., in the area of Brookdale and Herbert boulevards.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office identified the skydiver as 54-year-old Monroe Township resident Paul Haaf, Jr. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Skydive Cross Keys Haaf's parachute deployed after he jumped from the plane. It's not clear what went wrong after that, but eyewitness Maria Mead, who said she saw and heard Haaf in the air, said it looked like his parachute was shredded.

"I thought the guy had a power pack, because of the whooshing sound. He was flying through the sky, above the trees, above the rooftops," she said.

Skydive Cross Keys said Haaf was an experienced skydiver with over 1,200 jumps.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Monroe Township Police Department are investigating the accident with the Federal Aviation Administration.