Teen dies from parachute malfunction while skydiving

Jeanna Triplicata went skydiving with her grandmother last weekend when she died due to parachute malfunction. The Georgia teen was excited to experience tandem skydiving with grandmother Renee Sands, but the tragedy happened.

Parachute malfunction

Upson County Sheriff Dan Kilgore reported to NBC Atlanta affiliate 11Alive that the primary parachute did not open properly. On the other hand, the emergency chute opened too late. Besides Jeanna, her 35-year-old instructor, Nick Esposito, also died.

The teen was celebrating her high school graduation, so she wanted to experience skydiving. The 18-year-old brought her parents, brother, 15, sister, 9, and best friend for moral support. The teen's dad, Joey Triplicata, told TODAY that he had no way to shield them from the tragedy. He said that it was terrible to have the whole family witness the sad event.

Trey Holladay, the Skydive Atlanta owner, shared that they are devastated for both their team member, the teen, and their family members. They are asking for privacy as they process grief.

Family-oriented teen

The teen's dad described his daughter as kind and family-oriented and said that she was a proud member of her high school's color guard. He said that his daughter was set to go to the University of North Georgia in the fall.

He also said that anybody who came in contact with her in school liked her. He knew that Jeanna was not and did not want to be a popular girl in school. However, he said that there were so many people who reached out to them. Most of the people only talked about positive things about his daughter.

The teen also had a special bond with her family. Her dad said that they always had fun going to the movies. He shared that a few years ago, they rented a projector to watch movies. They invited her bunch of friends over and watched "My Girl" outside. The next night, they invited the whole neighborhood to watch "Jurassic Park."

Teen and grandmother relationship

Jeanna was particularly close to her grandmother. Often, she would have sleepovers at her grandma's house to watch "Grey's Anatomy." She is also a huge fan of Harry Styles. She recently received a life-size cutout of the singer on her birthday. To honor her, the family plans to bring the cutout to her funeral service.

Joey said that he is sharing his daughter's story to raise awareness, so no one experiences an accident just like his daughter did. He also has another hope, and that is to see his daughter's video. He is hoping that his daughter was having the best time of her life before her free-fall started.