Skydiving Delco mayor dies during jump

The well-known mayor of tiny Rutledge Borough in Delaware County was killed yesterday afternoon in a skydiving accident at a popular South Jersey facility.

The accident that killed C. Scott Shields, 45, also an attorney who practiced law in Media, took place at Freefall Adventures, a busy parachuting center in Williamstown.

Detectives with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said last night that their preliminary investigation showed that Shields' main parachute failed to open during his jump with other divers at roughly 4:25 p.m.

The prosecutor's office said that Shields apparently did not deploy his main parachute, and witnesses said his emergency chute, which opens automatically, never fully inflated.

Televised news reports showed a red parachute stuck in the trees.

Shields was a longtime skydiving enthusiast who posted frequently on his Facebook page about the sport and reportedly had more than 100 jumps to his credit.

Shields, a graduate of Haverford High School, the University of Florida and Widener School of Law, had been mayor of Rutledge - a small but affluent borough of fewer than 1,000 people about 10 miles west of Philadelphia - since January 2006, according to the Delaware County Daily Times.

A frequent guest columnist for that Delaware County tabloid, Shields was known for his conservative political views and his fierce advocacy of free markets, low taxes and smaller government.

Licensed skydivers can pay a fee to jump from Freefall Adventures' planes, while newcomers are attached to trained instructors during their initial jumps. According to the company's website, more than 250,000 people have jumped at Freefall. In 2006, an instructor and student were killed together there.

The previous year, two experienced skydivers were killed when they collided and their parachutes became entangled. In 2004, a skydiver waited too long to open his chute and died.

Last night, Shields' Facebook page was filled with messages of condolence from friends and political associates. One of his three daughters, Deb, wrote: "I love you daddy so much!!!! Your the best dad!!!! I love you so much!"