DRAPER, Utah — Draper police are still investigating what led to a mid-air collision between a paraglider and hang glider Tuesday night.
That incident injured two people and killed 44-year-old Joshua Ellison, who was piloting the paraglider at the time.
David Dixon has been a paraglider pilot for more than two decades.
He says he met Ellison about a year and a half ago, and Ellison left quite the first impression.
"I guess the best way to describe it is to tell you what I went home and told me wife. I said, 'I've met a guy who I really want to become good friends with. He is so genuinely nice and concerning for everybody else,'" said Dixon.
Dixon told FOX 13 News that Ellison was a paragliding instructor and described his passion for the lifestyle.
"I know the year I started flying with him, the year before he had put more hours flying in that year than I had in the previous five or six years," said Dixon.
While Ellison had less experience, Dixon says he saw him as a mentor.
"He really was exceptional at what he did. What I appreciated the most was the way he treated other people in the community," said Dixon.
While many paraglider and hang glider pilots packed into the Salt Lake County Flight Park North on Wednesday, the mood was somber for those who knew Ellison.
The Draper Police Department and Draper Fire Department were dispatched to the park at 15300 S. Steep Mountain Dr. in Draper on Tuesday, just before 5:30 p.m.
They say officers and medical staff located three victims south of the park's main parking lot. The accident involved Ellison and his 30-year-old female passenger who were flying tandem in a paraglider, along with a single pilot of a hang-glider.
The 30-year-old female was transported to Intermountain Hospital in Murray by helicopter with critical injuries, according to police. The pilot of the hang-glider was believed to have been treated and released at the scene. However, police say they later determined the pilot had been transported to a local hospital with severe injuries.
Ellison was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I did come back up later to support some of his family," said Dixon.
Lt. Mike Elkins with the Draper Police Department says right now, as it stands, it just looks like this was a really horrible and tragic accident.
"I've worked for Draper City coming up on 14 years, and I see them flying all the time, and I can only think of one or two major incidents in the past that have come out of there," said Lt. Elkins.
While Dixon says his first impression of Ellison will stick with him, his heart is with his paragliding community and Ellison's family.
"I also know how much he devoted and loved his family, his wife and his children, and it just breaks my heart with what their loss is," said Dixon.
Draper police say they will release more information as it becomes available. Lt. Elkins told FOX 13 News on Wednesday they are unsure right now if the NTSB or FAA will get involved.
