COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A Coweta County family is remembering their beloved daughter after the teenager died in a skydiving accident over the weekend.
Jeanna Triplicata was excited for her skydiving jump over the weekend and she was safe about it too, going on a jump with an experienced instructor.
Now her family is still wondering how they're left without their daughter that they described as their sunshine.
Bridgette Triplicata says her daughter Jeanna had her whole life planned out.
The 18-year-old high school graduate was set to attend the University of North Georgia next month to study to become a teacher.
Her mother and grandmother said she always looked out for others.
“She was one to find the person that no one else wanted to talk to and go be their friend,” grandmother Renee Sands said.
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But no one could have planned for the skydiving accident that killed a Skydive Atlanta Instructor and Jeanna.
“Just love your children. Never take a day for granted and make sure they know how much you love them,” Bridgette Triplicata said.
Jeanna and her grandmother went skydiving Sunday afternoon in Upson County near the airport. They each had separate instructors for two tandem jumps.
“When she turned 18 that was what she wanted to do. She was not scared at all,” Bridgette Triplicata said.
The Upson County sheriff said Jeanna's parachute didn't open up correctly and the emergency parachute didn't open up in time.
Local investigators and the FAA is working with Skydive Atlanta to figure out exactly what went wrong.
“We want to know what happened. We understand it’s going to take some time, you know, for investigating. We just have to wait,” Sands said.
For Jeanna’s family, they know she couldn’t wait to start the rest of her life. Now they’re left cherishing the memories she left behind.
“She really was perfect,” Bridgette Triplicata said.
Nick Esposito, 35, was a veteran skydiver and also died on Sunday.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Triplicata family if you’d like to help them out.
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