An ISU student remains in stable condition after a mid-air skydiving collision that killed another participant last week. Ken Reed, senior in electrical engineering, was injured during a jump which involved 300 other skydivers who were attempting to set a new world record. Paul Adams, another member of the group, was fatally injured in the collision, which occurred during the group’s 22nd jump. Reed was taken to Community Hospital in Ottawa, Ill., then airlifted to Peoria, Ill., for care at OSF St. Francis Medical Center. The skydivers had scheduled 24 jumps over a two-week period to attempt to complete the 300-member formation, but ended the effort after the accident. Hashem Hashemi-Toroghi, ISU Skydiving Club instructor, was also a member of the world-record team with Reed and Adams. “All of the skydivers are extremely sad,” Hashemi-Toroghi said. “Hopefully he will recover as soon as possible – that is my immediate wish.” Reed will not be returning this semester so he can recover from his injuries. While at Iowa State, Reed was a resident of Kimball House in Friley Hall for eight semesters. Jeff Bennett, former Kimball House resident assistant, said he hopes to see Reed back in the residence halls soon. Bennett, senior in agricultural systems technology, said Reed, known as “Skip” to Kimball House members, has been very involved in the house cabinet. “When I was introduced to Kimball House the year before I took over, he was one of the first ones that really made feel welcome,” Bennett said. “His work on cabinet – thank you can’t say enough.” Bennett said Reed was especially skilled at explaining different residence hall rules and policies to his fellow floor members and was very understanding. “His leadership skills are going to be missed very much on Kimball,” Bennett said. Bennett also said Reed is very proud of his involvement in the skydiving club and had pictures of his hobby hanging in his room and on his door. While Reed never talked about his skydiving activities very much, Bennett said he was especially excited when he landed at Jack Trice Stadium before a football game last year. Reed has been jumping for the past three and a half years and has completed about 600 jumps, Hashemi-Toroghi said, adding that Reed was very excited after trying out and being accepted as a member of the world-record team. “He loves the sport,” Hashemi-Toroghi said. “For the number of jumps he has, I do consider him a good jumper.” ISU Skydiving Club Adviser Jim Kurtenbach also said Reed is very enthusiastic about his hobby. “He is extremely competent [and] extremely excited about skydiving,” Kurtenbach said. While mid-air collisions have occurred before, Kurtenbach said they are very rare. “It’s an extremely safe sport,” he said. Hashemi-Toroghi also said accidents in skydiving are uncommon, but the possibility is always there. “Every time, I was very concerned about getting hurt,” he said. “There are elements of risk involved.” Kurtenbach said many skydivers are not concerned about the possible dangers in their hobby. “We don’t look at it as a thrill sport or something dangerous,” Kurtenbach said. “It’s just a part of our lives.” Both Kurtenbach and Hashemi-Toroghi said they are looking forward to seeing Reed return to Iowa State and think he will keep skydiving. “We expect to see him back in short order,” Kurtenbach said.