Video shows Texas carnival worker dangling from ride to protect girl during mishap

ByJasmine Perry, Storyful
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Worker seen dangling form ride while trying to help girl during mishap

GROVES, Texas -- 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, Sunday.

Eric McCauley's 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.

McCauley told Storyful that the employee was hanging in the air for about two to three minutes.

Worker seen dangling form ride while trying to help girl during mishap

According to Groves City Marshal Norman Reynolds, the ride operator was assisting a 12-year-old girl onto "The Bullet" ride when a sudden gust of wind lifted the car into the air.

The compartment rotated 180 degrees and became stuck 30 feet in the air with the door open.

During this incident, there were two to four children in the ground-level compartments.

There were no injuries reported but the ride remained closed for the day.

Storyful contacted the festival for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.