MOAB, Utah — Two people died in a BASE jumping incident in Moab over the weekend. One of them was Andy Lewis, a well-known adventurer and trailblazer in the BASE jumping and slacklining community.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said dispatch was notified of a BASE-jumping incident in the remote area of Mineral Bottom on Sunday. Lewis and 68-year-old Danny Joe Kregle of Arizona both died from their injuries. They were on a tandem jump.
Kregle's family said he had two daughters and one granddaughter. They said he was an active member in the Paradise Valley and Mesa communities, and he loved boxing and traveling.
“We hope he can be remembered for the life he lived and the people who loved him," a statement from Kregle's family read. “Danny had a wonderful sense of humor and was always looking for ways to make people laugh. One of his greatest joys was performing magic tricks alongside his granddaughter. He was the light of her world, and she was the light of his."
As a Moab resident, Lewis — known by the nickname "Sketchy Andy" — was a big part of the community. In videos from his social media, he was seen BASE jumping off a towering peak in Utah with his parachute in hand, opening up before reaching the bottom of the road.
He was also known across the country. One of his friends from Germany, Friedi Kühne, was one of his fans at first. Kühne is a professional slackliner, and it turns out, they both helped push each other to do great things in the slacklining world.
He said Lewis was a rockstar and a huge source of motivation.
“Andy was a complete character. He was already a character when you knew him just for his online presence. He had the nickname ‘Sketchy Andy' for a reason because he was sketchy, doing very crazy stunts,” Kühne said. "But then he was also very friendly and down to earth to other people, as long as they pushed themselves and passionate in the sports like slacklining, BASE jumping or even just climbing.”
He said Lewis appreciated courage, motivation and excitement because those were the traits that made him who he was.
Kuhne added that the sports they partake in are dangerous and they know that before they step foot on a slackline or hook up their parachutes.
“He did those things just laughing and smiling. He very much liked to laugh into the face of danger. That’s something I really, truly admired about him,” Kühne said.
He said Lewis taught him to live life to the fullest, and he will be missed by the adventure community across the world.
