Tri-Cities musician, investor dies in skydiving midair collision

A Tri-Cities real estate investor and longtime musician and educator died Sunday when he and another skydiver collided during a group jump near Ritzville.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office was called out at 5:30 p.m. after Randy Hubbs of Kennewick and Nicole Klein, of the Colville area, collided during their descent from a plane.

Eleven people were participating in the jump.

Hubbs appeared to become incapacitated after the collision and no longer in control of his parachute canopy, according to the sheriff’s office.

Staff with Skydive West Plains of Ritzville watched Hubbs as he was about 500 feet above ground level and drifted north and away from the planned drop zone, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was apparently unresponsive as he disappeared from their view beyond a hill, according to the sheriff’s office.

Klein was injured and taken to a hospital, it said.

Weather conditions did not appear to be a factor in the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hubbs was the director of the Pasco High School concert band, marching band, jazz ensemble and basketball band and color guard from 1979 to 1987, according to his LinkedIn bio.

“He was a teacher who led his students with his entire heart and being,” said a comment on a Facebook post announcing his death.

He moved from Pasco High to Columbia Basin College for the next 26 years, where he was an associate professor and director of bands.

His roles included music department co-lead, director of the CBC Jazz Ensemble, director of the Columbia Basin Concert Band and instructor, including teaching trumpet and music theory.

He also was the director of the Columbia Basin Jazz Band, a band made up of professional musicians from the Tri-Cities area.

Hubbs had been active in the Cavalcade of Bands, which he is credited with naming.

He also played for decades with the Mid-Columbia Brass Quintet, which formed when he started his first teaching job at Pasco High.

In 2015, he transitioned into real estate investing, selling properties and helping clients buy and sell single- and multi-family investment properties, according to LinkedIn.

In 2024, he contributed to “Lessons from Thought Leaders,” an Amazon bestseller.

He was an avid skydiver, posting in April that he was getting ready for “another awesome season at Skydive West Plains.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 3:56 PM.