Watch: Terrified carnival worker hangs from ride after wind gust sends car flying with girl inside
The car, swinging in the wind, left a carnival worker hanging from the outside, 30 feet high in the air. A young girl was inside.
See the terrifying moments a carnival worker hung from a broken ride, saving a child
A freak gust of wind disabled a ride and sent the car 30 feet into the air with the door open. A young girl was inside, and the carnival worker clung to the car for his life, getting inside just moments before the ride descended again.
GROVES, Texas – A fun day at the pecan festival turned terrifying for a young girl and a carnival worker when a freak gust of wind sent a ride flying.
The 12-year-old girl was just getting into the car of "The Bullet" when the gust blew the car 30 feet into the air. The carnival worker, who was assisting the girl into the ride, hung on to the still open door, Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds told Storyful.
The photographer said that the car tilted upside down, and the worker struggled to protect the rider. For two to three minutes, the video shows the man's legs hanging and flailing from the ride, high in the sky, while his coworkers frantically worked free the stuck machinery below. The huge arm of the ride swayed uncontrollably with the effort and the still-blowing wind.
A carnival worker hung 30 feet in the air, protecting a young girl after a ride mishap, at the Groves Pecan Festival in Groves, Texas, on October 15.
(Eric McCauley via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Video shows that initially, not many festival goers noticed. But, by the end of the video, a crowd assembled around the base of the ride.
"Everyone's got phones out and just waiting," one person can be heard on the video. "That's horrible."
"Is he going to fall?" asked a woman.
video shows the worker dangling from the ride with an open door and a girl inside. After struggling to close the door, the worker successfully secures it with his foot just as the ride descends.
(Eric McCauley via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Suddenly, the ride releases and the car twists towards the camera while it plunges toward the ground. The worker has his body pressed against the door he managed to close just moments before, securing the girl.
Video shows the worker dangling from the ride with an open door and a girl inside. After struggling to close the door, the worker successfully secures it with his foot just as the ride descends.
(Eric McCauley via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Looking closely, it is hard to tell what the man was gripping, possibly the window grate. As the car swings wildly on the mechanical arm, the man rotates like the hands on a clock before jumping off when the car nears the ground.
Storyful said that no injuries were reported, but the ride remained closed for the remainder of the day.