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Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs City Manager Jon Roberts remained in serious condition Wednesday at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, but family members said they continue to see steady signs of improvement.

Roberts damaged the thoracic artery in his chest in a skydiving accident Saturday near Perris, Calif., and had surgery to repair the artery. Lauren Mooney, a city of Steamboat Springs spokeswoman and Roberts' assistant, said Wednesday she spoke to Roberts' wife, LeAnn Roberts, who said that while Jon Roberts had been on a clear liquid diet, he recently was able to eat soft solid foods such as Jell-O.

Roberts remained in the hospital's intensive care unit as of Wednesday morning, but Mooney said LeAnn Roberts was hopeful he would be moved to an intermediate care area by the end of the day.

Investigations into Roberts' skydiving accident continue. Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, general manager of Perris Valley Skydiving and a safety and training advisor with the U.S. Parachute Association, said Tuesday that Roberts' main parachute did not deploy during his jump. Brodsky-Chenfeld said Roberts' reserve chute deployed close to the ground, but "it opened high enough for him to land safely." However, Brodsky-Chenfeld said Roberts landed by a large hangar and "over one of the very few congested areas" near the Perris Valley drop zone. He said Roberts was "avoiding obstacles and wasn't able to have the ideal landing approach and setup."

It is unclear why Roberts' main parachute did not deploy. Brodsky-Chenfeld said that he expects a report from the parachute riggers this week. Brodsky-Chenfeld also said he needs to speak with Roberts about what happened.

The Federal Aviation Administration also has opened an investigation of the accident.

"We plan to interview (Roberts) : but we haven't talked to him because obviously we don't want to intrude on him while he's recovering," Ian Gregor, FAA Western-Pacific Region spokesman, said Wednesday. "We sent an inspector to visit the flight school on Tuesday : but that inspector is not in the office today, so I don't know exactly what they found out."

To reach Brandon Gee, call 871-4210 or e-mail bgee@steamboatpilot.com