Thanksgiving 2013: Macy's Parade Mayhem, Buzz Lightyear Balloon Handler Sent to Hospital (See Parade Video)
The annual celebration of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is one of the most anticipated events of the holiday, but just when everybody is enjoying the parade the Spider-Man balloon was deflated by a Central Park tree. And not only that, Buzz Lightyear balloon handler Keri O'Connell of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was taken to Roosevelt Hospital when she was ran over by a cart riding beneath the float.
The 78-foot-long Spider-Man Balloon was speared right after the NYPD ordered the balloons fly at lower altitude due to strong winds that can gust up to 43 mph. After the balloon hit the tree, spidey balloon had to float through the parade with deflated arm and is one of the 15 balloons that NYPD ordered to fly below typical height.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old balloon handler was holding a 67-foot-long "Toy Story" hero when she was injured around 10:30AM at W. 75th St. and Central Park West. "We were having the most fantastic time. Everything was wonderful. All of a sudden I was on the ground in intense pain," said O'Connell when she was hit by a golf cart. "I started screaming because no one was doing anything. I kept saying, 'Move the car! Get it off of me!' "
When she was freed, O'Connell has to sit in the cart while waiting for an ambulance - next to the driver who caused the accident. "He did not look at me. He did not speak to me. He did not ask me how I was. He did not apologize," O'Connell told the Daily News.
When she finally got to the hospital the doctors said that may have a hairline fracture in her foot and advised her to visit a podiatrist. "I've definitely been better. They gave me strong meds at the hospital - I'm in a lot of pain," she said.
The mother of two said that she's looking forward for the event and she volunteered to be one of the handlers at the request of her aunt, whose dream is to help steer one of Macy's giant balloons.