In an incident that disrupted a Saturday event and left three people injured, a hot air balloon spiraled out of control in Williams, Arizona, after being hit by a sudden and strong wind gust. According to ABC15, the balloon, in the process of being set up at the Ramada Inn Hotel, detached from its moorings around 11:45 a.m. local time.
Reports indicate that the pilot was faced with wind speeds that unexpectedly increased to become between 40 and 50 miles per hour quickly. Williams police detailed that among the injured were a 15-year-old boy with back and neck injuries and an 8-year-old girl who sustained a broken thumb and rope burns. An adult also incurred abrasions. No one was inside the basket when the tethered balloon was taken by the wind, as per ABC15. Damage was not limited to personal injury; two vehicles, canopies, tables, and a light pole, and damage to a building were reported.
AZFamily shared eyewitness accounts, particularly from vendor Erin Orozco-Whitaker, who narrowly missed being struck by the hot air balloon. "I could not believe my eyes," Orozco-Whitaker recounted. "It was an unbelievable sight to see. This huge, massive balloon just scraped across the floor with a basket dragging, a really heavy basket. It was very frightening."
Orozco-Whitaker further described how she saw a group of kids with the Young Marines trying to hold onto the balloon's ropes to prevent the accident, which occurred at an event intended to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. "The other woman that got hit, the hot air balloon—the basket, hit their vehicle. It was a suburban and the tailgate was up and the woman was sitting under the tailgate and it fell down on her. And I see cuts and bleeding, and I ran over to her. She said she was okay and needed 911," Orozco-Whitaker told AZFamily.
