RENO, Nev. (AP) — Authorities have identified an experienced cliff and bridge jumper from Nevada as the 23-year-old man who died after he jumped off a bridge in Northern California while friends were filming the stunt last week.
Don Taylor Gorum of Sparks was pronounced dead Wednesday below the Lake Britton Bridge about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Redding, the Shasta County sheriff’s office said.
Deputies learned Gorum had jumped off bridges and cliffs before, and was being filmed by a group of friends that day.
“The video showed the victim jump off the bridge and attempt a flipping maneuver before landing awkwardly in the water,” the sheriff’s office said.
Gorum was a member of the Silver State Hotshots fighting wildfires since 2017, according to a Gofundme site organized for his memorial. It stated he died doing what he loved.
The 60-foot-high (18 meters) bridge near Burney is known as the “Stand By Me” bridge because it was featured in the 1986 movie that showed four boys running from a train on the bridge.
Sheriff’s deputies and a California Highway Patrol helicopter responded after Gorum’s girlfriend contacted deputies at 4:13 p.m. Wednesday.
A dive team found his body found that night in about 37 feet (11 meters) of water.