A father of six died tragically during a skydiving incident, leaving behind a wife and their six children. Per 7News, Rodger Goltz had been skydiving for most of his life. Alongside his 18-year-old son, Goltz attempted his 77th jump over the past weekend. According to his wife, Kelly, tragedy struck toward the end of his dive.
Rodger turned too fast and too low, leaving him at the wrong angle. "My son Kai came in after him and saw the crash but didn't realize how bad it was or that it was his dad on the ground," she said. "It wasn't until he saw his shoe on the ground that he knew. It was pretty horrific for him."
Rodger suffered a critical head injury upon landing, knocking him unconscious. "There was a Toll helicopter nearby which airlifted him to Canberra where he was pronounced dead on Sunday," Kelly told the publication. She proceeded to speak about how rare it was for such a tragedy to occur in the first place.
"The guy I spoke to said there are mishaps where people turn wrong or too low, but they usually walk away from it. But he said he's never seen anything like this ... where the end result is just catastrophic."
"The kids are going to miss their best friend. My eldest daughter was saying just today that dad could make anything happen," Kelly emphasized. Unfortunately, with Rodger gone, the family potentially stands to lose their home.
"We can't afford to keep it. But we desperately don't want to lose it."
The Heartbreak of Losing a Father and a Home
The family is struggling to cope with the loss of Goltz, with many of them unsure of how to move forward. "They don't want to move out of the house because that's where Dad was," said Phil Goltz, Rodger's brother. "The kids are trying to come to terms with how their life has just changed in the blink of an eye."
The situation has been made even more difficult by the fact that Goltz's life insurance policy did not cover skydiving. Phil revealed that the family only learned of this after Goltz's death, adding to their existing grief and financial anxieties.
"If he had known it didn't cover it, he mightn't have done it. I don't know. But being an adventurer, you expect that if something happens to you, the family will be looked after. But not this time," Phil stated. "When you look through the clauses, it's one of those precluded activities. We only realized afterwards. It's another shock."
Community Rallies to Support the Family
A GoFundMe page was created to keep the family afloat. The description for the page reads as follows. "Rodger Goltz tragically lost his life in a skydiving accident on the weekend, leaving an irreplaceable void in our hearts and within our family. He leaves behind his beloved wife, six kids, siblings and his mother and father, all whom he cherished deeply," it begins.
The page goes on to explain the family's current situation, highlighting the devastating financial burden they are facing. It emphasizes the need for community support to help them through this challenging time, particularly in securing their home. The page aims to raise enough funds to provide the family with the financial support they need to rebuild their lives and honour Rodger's memory.
The Australian Parachute Federation (APF) is currently investigating the incident. "It is still too early to understand exactly what caused the incident, but we know that while the parachute opened and functioned normally, he experienced a heavy landing and sustained multiple injuries," Skydive Oz chief instructor Paul Smith said. "The close-knit skydiving community here is devastated that this has occurred."
Goltz's death is a reminder of the inherent risks associated with adventure sports. However, it's also a testament to the power of community support, as evidenced by the outpouring of donations and condolences for the Goltz family. The tragedy serves as a stark reminder to always be prepared for the unexpected and to prioritize safety in all our activities. The world is a smaller place without Rodger Goltz, and his loved ones deserve all the support they can get to navigate this immense loss.
Moving Forward: A Legacy of Adventure
While the immediate future is uncertain for Goltz's family, one thing is certain: Rodger's legacy of adventure will live on through his children. He instilled a love of life in them, an appreciation for the beauty of the world, and the courage to embrace the unexpected. His loss will be felt deeply, but his spirit of adventure will continue to inspire them, reminding them to live life to the fullest, just as he did.
