Posted on 11/25/2005 5:00:56 AM PST by HubCon4
November 24, 2005 2 Sisters Injured as Parade Balloon Crashes Into Lamppost By SEWELL CHAN A giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, swinging out of control in sudden bursts of wind, struck a light pole in the heart of Times Square today, injuring two spectators and scaring scores of others in an eerie replay of a 1997 accident that had prompted pledges of safety reforms.
The M&M balloon, a 515-pound plastic contraption filled with 13,335 cubic feet of helium, began to list erratically as it entered Times Square around 11:40 a.m., witnesses said, before it crashed into a lamppost and was punctured. As the balloon collapsed, it pulled off a light fixture, which crashed to the ground amid a small sea of spectators.
Police and emergency workers descended on the scene, at one of signature points of the 81-year-old parade, and the victims - a 26-year-old woman, who was using a wheelchair, and her 11-year-old sister - were rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, where they were treated for cuts and bruises...
Witnesses in Times Square said several balloons, which had been sent afloat at 9 a.m. by city and parade officials confident that the day's winds were milder than feared, had veered and tilted as their handlers appeared to struggle through the open area of Times Square. At least one spectator said an earlier balloon had bumped the same light pole.
As the M&M balloon moved down Broadway, toward West 43rd Street, the wind sent it eastward into an office tower at 1500 Broadway. As dozens of volunteer handlers tried to redirect the balloon on its proper path, it veered into the light pole anchored on a traffic island.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I'm frightened Auntie Em!
M & M Mars is a fascinating company.
It's a closely held, family business that releases no financials whatsoever.
The candy business is highly competitive and cutthroat. The security measures and non-disclosure agreements forced on employees, vendors, etc. are breathtaking.
But no chocolate mess -- melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
I'm sure that the people holding the lines have had it drilled into their heads over and over that you don't let go of the line no matter what, but in this case it might have helped. It's hard to think that quickly when you're under pressure in those situations, though. Glad no one was seriously hurt or killed.
Hershey-ettes were better than M & M's. Don't think you can get them anymore unless you visit Hershey PA.
Only the New York Times could make this incident sound like the crash of the Hindenburg.
There's a marketing opportunity here. Perhaps a contest that has something to do with identifying the M&M of Death. Or something like that.
A few years back, M&M was having a really bad week. The M&M sponsored car was involved in the accident that killed
Dale Earnhardt, a trucker carrying a load of M&Ms gave a ride to a couple of hitchhiking teens that had murdered two
profs at Dartmouth the previous week, and Eminem was convicted or sentenced that week too.
And so it goes...
To prevent duplication, please do not alter the heading. Thanks.
CNN is reporting that NBC, which hosts the Macy's Parade, cut away from the accident and played a picture of the float from last year.
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