A video emerged of a festival worker in southeastern Texas dangling from the cabin of a carnival ride 30 feet off the ground while trying to protect a girl in the cabin during a mishap on Saturday.
The girl appeared to be shouting for help from inside the car as the ride operator clung on, trying to shut the door, and concerned people milled around the scene, the video showed. The incident occurred during the Groves Pecan Festival some 250 miles east of Austin.
The operator was helping the girl into the car for a ride on “The Bullet” when a gust of wind swung the compartment 180 degrees up into the air, where it remained for about three minutes, according to Storyful, which published the video.
Other festival workers eventually pulled the compartment down to safety, 12NewsNow reported. (RELATED: Rescue Attempts Fail To Save Life Of Man Stuck In Corn Feed Silo)
HOLD ON: Eyewitness video captures the terrifying moment a carnival worker hangs 30 feet in the air, protecting a young girl, after a ride mishap in Texas. https://t.co/mWwX4aWPV3 pic.twitter.com/oyn0iXLZVS
— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2023
“It started going slow at first and he was trying to stop it, her door wasn’t closed. So I started freaking out, as he went to close the door he just kind of flew up with it. My daughter was up there and talking to him. Saying please hang on. Don’t fall,” Caress Muraira, the girl’s mother, told 12NewsNow.
The girl has been identified as 12-year-old Juliana Bernal, the outlet reported. “She kept telling me, ‘Mommy I’m okay, I just want to let you know I’m okay,'” Muraira added, per 12NewsNow.
Both mother and daughter wanted to thank the ride operator but could not find him in the ensuing confusion. “My daughter did say she saw blood on his fingers from where he was holding on, that’s why she was worried. I just wanted to make sure he was okay … They took him and that’s when we weren’t able to contact him. So hopefully she gets to say thank you,” Muraira said, according to the outlet.
“The Bullet” was shut down afterward for the rest of the day, 12NewsNow noted.