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Erik Roner, ‘Nitro Circus’ Star, Dies In Skydiving Accident

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 11:38 PST, Sep 28, 2015

Erik Roner, a professional base jumper, reportedly died in a skydiving accident on Monday.

TMZ reports that the former co-star on the MTV series, Nitro Circus, died during a jump at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort that apparently took a deadly turn.

According to the report, a spokesperson claims that Erik Roner jumped with a group of skydivers during the opening act of the resort’s golf tournament. On the way down, the 38-year-old professional skier reportedly hit a tree and died from the injuries he suffered from the traumatic accident. Erik Roner was a member of the Nitro Crew, a team of extreme athletes and stuntmen known for traveling the world while performing jaw-dropping stunts and tricks.

Erik Roner
Nitro Circus riders (back row l-r) Dov Rybnik, Jed Mildon, Josh Sheehan and (front row l-r) Beau Bamburg, Jarryd McNeil, Travis Pastrana, Erik Roner and Jaie Toohey pose for a photo prior to their Nitro Circus Live Show in Manchester on November 26, 2013 in Manchester, England.

The popular TV series, Nitro Circus introduced the expanding world of MTV fans and critics to Roner and his teammates. The series, which was co-created by Johnny Knoxville, debuted on February 8, 2009.

Each of the series’ 21 episodes focused on the team of friends and co-workers pulling off jaw-dropping stunts in a wide variety of extreme sports and apparently having a great time doing it.

Erik Roner
Nitro Circus stars Joelene Van Vugt of Canada, Erik Roner of the USA and eight friends perform some extreme skydiving manoeuvres with a skis to launch their extreme sport ‘2011 Nitro Circus Live New Zealand Tour’ on November 16, 2010 in Matamata, New Zealand. (Photo by Global Action Sports via Getty Images)

Known by many of his fans and followers as “Rubberneck,” Eric Roner continued to find ways to keep his stunts in the public eye long after Nitro Circus ended its run after only two seasons. For instance, the married father of two kids made headlines earlier this year by recreating a popular stunt seen in the hit 2009 Pixar film, Up.

According to Gizmag, Roner attached 90 helium-filled balloons to a sun lounger and flew high into the sky as part of an epic stunt.

The report states that Erik Roner reached a peak of 8,000 feet with his life-threatening “experiment,” in addition to piquing the curiosity and imagination of millions of people around the world. Nearly 20 people helped Roner’s team to inflate the balloons used for the stunt — a task that called for 50 tanks of helium — before attaching them to the chair.

To prepare for his landing, Roner was equipped with a shotgun (to pop the balloons) and a parachute. He opened up about the stunt in an interview with Gizmag, including the key role that weather played in pulling off the stunt successfully.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Who hasn’t thought of getting lifted off the ground by a bunch of helium balloons? We went over every detail of the process. Weather was a huge factor. We even moved the launch day up a few days last minute because our initial day was predicting bad weather.”

Quite a few people have shared their reactions and responses to the news of Erik Roner’s death on Twitter.

In addition to his wife and kids, Eric Roner is also survived by his 35-year-old brother, former American soccer player, Chris Roner.

[Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images]

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