Chachi "The Rocketman" Valencia was hoping the wind would play nice when he launched out of a cannon at the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival in Indio, California.
But it did not.
OUCH!
The wind caught the Rocketman as he launched out of the cannon at 55 mph and soared 165 feet into the air. It then veered him slightly off course, just enough for the net to springboard him hard onto the ground.
Valencia said,
I know the mistake that we made. And it was a judgement call, probably.
So when I got shot, the wind completely caught me.
And the mistake was a costly one.
As a result of this accident, Chachi sustained serious injuries, including broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a lacerated liver. He may require surgery in the next 10 days.
Beyond the physical pain, the medical bills are already mounting, and the road to recovery will be long. He's facing significant time away from work and his passion, and the financial strain is adding to the stress on his health and well-being.
His injuries will likely take months to heal, which means he'll be facing little to no income.
So, he's set up a GoFundMe to try to pay for medical and living expenses:
Of course, as soon as he's recovered, he intends to get out of bed and climb into another cannon to do it all over again.
‘You know, this is what I do for a living. It's not like I can stop this tomorrow and get some other job or something,' he said. ‘This is what I do.'
Maybe he just hasn't watched enough Looney Tunes to know that this is a bad idea?
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