Change of command ceremonies at Fort Riley in Kansas were interrupted Thursday when a parachutist slammed feet-first at about 50-miles-per-hour into a military band assembled on the parade ground.
Three members of the First Infantry Division band were taken by ambulance to Irwin Army Community Hospital.
One horn player, Sergeant Rachel Boggs, was knocked cold and suffered a fractured jaw in the mishap. Sergeant Andrew Spinazzola and Staff Sergeant Mark Lucero suffered what post officials describe as minor injuries.
The parachutist Scott Hallock and his partner in the exhibition, both civilians, have thousands of parachute jumps between them. Hallock refused treatment at the scene.
Not long after the accident, Major General Robert Durbin handed over command of the division to Brigadier General Perry Wiggins. Durbin was abruptly reassigned to Washington, DC this month and has been nominated for a promotion to lieutenant general.
