It was in this latter event (Texas Hold'em) this past Monday morning in which a rather serious accident occurred – a passenger in the balloon's gondola was catapulted out, into the air, and down onto the ground when the gondola clipped the top of a tent near the edge of the field. At last word, he's doing OK, but with a cracked pelvis. Again by the sheerest of coincidences, he was a volunteer crew member residing in the RV right next to ours – while we barely knew him, we had spoken with both him and his wife, and it still struck close to home.
This first picture is from the local newspaper, showing the victim literally flying through the air with the tent the balloon clipped clearly visible in the background. Ironically, this tent was the VIP tent, where those who wished to pay extra could have cushy seats from which to view the morning's activities.
Allegedly this link (also from the local newspaper) will get you to a raw video of the accident – good luck . . . I haven't been able to get it to work.
http://video.ap.org/?
f=NAMLJ&PID=H0nxv
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The next five pictures are actual pictures that Clara took of the balloon involved in the incident, after the victim was catapulted out. They show the balloon first shooting up high, due to the change in weight in the gondola, then crashing hard into the ground because the envelope was collapsing. The pilot was injured in the landing, but not as seriously as her passenger.
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