A SKYDIVER has been killed after crashing to the ground in a horror start to the Christmas period in Victoria.
A male skydiver was killed when he crashed to the ground in a paddock off Bridgewater-Maldon Road at Bridgewater, northwest of Bendigo, around 11am.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.
The 35-year-old man was believed to be part of a nearby skydiving club.
Earlier, in another tragic accident in Victoria's south-east, a 67-year-old man died when his four-wheeled motorbike overturned on a Dykes Rd property at Ruby, near Leongatha.
Paramedics were also called to a Redesdale vineyard, near Bendigo, about 8.30am, after a 50-year-old man was accidentally shot in the back of the leg, possibly with a shotgun.
Mr Mullen said it was believed the shooter didn’t realise there was someone else in the vineyard and shot the man from a distance. He was taken to Bendigo Hospital in a stable condition.
Meanwhile, on the NSW border, a glider crashed to the ground in Morris Street, Tocumwal, around midday.
Mr Mullen said the 40-year-old male pilot, who was trapped in the cabin, fractured both legs and was airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The string of accidents has sparked Ambulance Victoria to plead with people to take extra care over the Christmas period.
“It is unusual to see that many incidents in that short space of time,” Mr Mullen said.
“But none of them were car accidents, thank goodness.”
He urged road users to heed safety warnings and to take extra care over the holiday period, especially given recent multiple fatalities in the lead-up to Christmas.
Mr Mullen said Christmas was the busiest time of the year for rural paramedics, with a spike in accidents on our roads - and on the water.
Read more on the Herald Sun.
