(NEXSTAR) — Motorcycle stuntman Alex Harvill died Thursday while practicing for a world record jump at a Washington state airport, the Grant County Coroner’s Office confirmed.
Harvill, 28, was trying to break the Guinness World Record for the longest motorcycle ramp jump — 351 feet, the length of a football field — when he crashed.
Graphic video taken at the Moses Lake Airshow shows the Ephrata, Washington resident launch off the ramp during a warm-up run and come up short, slamming into the side of a large dirt mound.
The crash sent Harvill flying over the handlebars of his Suzuki 450 and flipping dozens of feet forward. It’s not yet clear if he died at the scene or was pronounced dead after first responders took him to the hospital.
Born in Corona, California, Harvill was an experienced rider who had already achieved a world record jump — at 19-years-old, he shattered a ramp to dirt record of 392 feet by landing a 425-foot jump on May 12, 2012. He also held the longest dirt to dirt motorcycle jump at 297 feet after clearing the gap at Horn Rapids Motorsports Complex in West Richland, Washington.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to Alex’s family, friends and loved ones,” the Grant County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Twitter Thursday.
Harvill is survived by his wife Jessica and his children, 5-year-old Willis and newborn Watson, according to the Columbia Basin Herald.
Harvill’s family released a statement saying: “While this is obviously a very tragic event that happened, Alex was doing what he loved to do, and we want to thank everyone for their outpouring of support.”
A GoFundMe has been established for Harvill’s family.
Video below is a warm up for his record-breaking jump in 2012: