Carnival worker and girl brave terrifying minutes of dangling 30 feet in the air after ride mishap
A fun-filled day turned quickly on its head as a terrifying twist of events unfolded at the Groves Pecan Festival in Groves, Texas, near Beaumont, on Oct. 15.
A carnival worker's heroics were displayed after a mishap sent him and a ride, with the door still open and a 12-year-old girl inside, flying into the air. He dangled 30 feet above the ground for two to three minutes, according to Eric McCauley, a witness who captured heart-pounding footage of the incident. As the worker hung there, he managed to close the ride door, securing it with his foot before other operators could start the ride's motors and bring it back down to the ground.
Moments earlier, he was helping the girl onto the ride, called "The Bullet," when a gust of wind suddenly lifted the car skyward, according to the Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds via Storyful.
The ride compartment twisted 180 degrees 30 feet in the air with the car door still open.
"A cold front had moved through the day before, and there were gusty north to northwest winds behind the front," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines said. "There were wind gusts of 20-25 mph near the surface during the afternoon of Oct. 15, and it wouldn't be surprising if the wind gusted to near 30 mph up at 30 feet."
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There were two to four children in ground-level compartments of the ride, according to KFDM. No one was reported injured in the harrowing event. Operators closed the ride for the rest of the festival.
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