B.C. Coroners Service investigating fatal Kamloops skydiving accident

KAMLOOPS – The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed it is investigating the death of a 61-year-old man involved in a skydiving accident near Kamloops over the weekend.

Due to the privacy of the deceased under the Coroners Act and privacy legislation, they are unable to confirm or release the identity.

Friends and colleagues of the prominent criminal defence lawyer, Don Campbell, have confirmed over social media he was killed on Saturday, Sept. 28, while he was skydiving.

"Today we in Kamloops lost a friend, colleague and a lawyer that was a valued member of our criminal justice system – Don Campbell died in a skydiving incident. Sad and shocking news," Kamloops lawyer Bill Sundhu wrote on his Facebook page.

"RIP Don Campbell. A real advocate for First Nations people. It was an honour to work beside you," Kamloops Native court worker Rae-Anne Sasakamoose said in a post.

Dean Schryver, manager of the Kamloops Skydivers Club, says there was an incident on Saturday involving an experienced skydiver having an unknown issue landing his parachute.

"Kamloops Fire and Rescue, B.C. Ambulance Services and RCMP attended the scene and provided all life-saving services possible. The absolute cause for the incident is unknown and in the hands of the RCMP and Coroners Service," Schryver said in an emailed statement. 

The coroners service says their fact-finding investigation will determine how, where, when and by what means he came to his death.

Still trying to absorb the news Kamloops lawyer Don Campbell died what he loved doing: skydiving. In '97 he took me skydiving (he & lawyer Sheldon Tate are in this pic I took in the plane). The other pic is me waiting to board. I believe that was his beloved bike in background pic.twitter.com/ib5gKWOtFf

— Renee Bernard (@Renee1130) September 30, 2019

—This story was updated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, to add comments from the Kamloops Skydivers Club.

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