Two Flying Elvises Injured When Stunt Goes Awry

Wednesday, June 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Two other members of the skydiving team were slightly injured Tuesday evening after being blown off course during the grand opening party for WaterWorks, a nightclub in North Quincy.

The four stuntmen, dressed in fringed white jumpsuits with slicked-back hair and sunglasses, were supposed to fly over the outdoor harborside club before landing in a cordoned-off section of the parking lot. Spotters were ready to help them land safely.

Instead, two of the skydivers splashed into Boston Harbor. A third fell onto a nearby street, and the other crashed at the Savin Hill Yacht Club in Boston's Dorchester section, a nightclub worker said.

Listed in critical condition at Boston City Hospital was Ray Sayles of Las Vegas, who suffered head injuries when he crashed. Jim Bozarth, also of Las Vegas, was in guarded condition, a hospital spokesman said.

Thomas LaRochelle of Brookline, N.H., and George Head of Las Vegas, who landed in the water, were not hospitalized.

"It was very windy and they miscalculated," said Phil Cocco, director of operations for WaterWorks.

About 1,600 people celebrating the nightclub's grand opening saw the stuntmen fall, but they all assumed the four went into the water and weren't concerned, Cocco said.

"We're watching them and they jumped out, and we're like 'Gee, they jumped kind of far away,' and they flew right to the bottom," Cocco said. "Everyone was laughing" because they thought they landed in the water, he said.