| DAVENPORT,
Iowa (AP) - A developmentally disabled man who slipped from a Ferris
wheel car and dropped between the machine's spokes before being rescued
by employees is in good condition, his caregivers said. Caleb Hill, 31,
fell from the car during a visit Tuesday to the Mississippi Valley Fair
in Davenport. He was one of 120 clients of Davenport's Handicapped
Development Center attending the first day of the fair called
"Special Needs Day." Local television station KWQC-TV6
captured the incident live during its noon telecast of the fair's
opening day. Witnesses said Hill and a Handicapped Development Center,
or HDC, caregiver were at the top of the 50-foot wheel when the ride
stopped to let on more passengers. That's when 5-foot, 100-pound Hill
slid under the safety bar but was caught by his companion. The female
caregiver eventually lost her grip and Hill fell and landed first on one
set of spokes and then another a few feet down. He clung to the metal
bars and several employees of Evans United Rides, which operates the
ride, scaled the wheel and secured him, witnesses said. Hill was
transferred to Genesis Medical Center-East. His condition was reported
as good with minor cuts and bruises. Karen Wenndt, Hill's guardian,
lives with her husband in Atlanta, Ga. Hill has lived in one of the HDC
residential homes since 1986. Wenndt said he has very low-level skills
but can be strong and agile. "You don't know from one minute to the
next where he'll go," she said, noting the Ferris wheel doesn't
have seat belts. "To put him in something that didn't secure him -
I wouldn't have been brave enough to do it." Despite the incident,
Wenndt said Hill loves the HDC, and the family appreciates the care he
receives in the special home. "HDC has done a wonderful job of
caring for him, I've always been well satisfied," she said. HDC
said it intends to continue its longtime practice of taking clients to
the fair. "It's something many of our people enjoy," said
Nancy Martel, senior vice president. "It's a high point of the year
for them." The Ferris wheel was shut down by Evans United Rides but
was deemed safe by a state inspector who was on the scene. Among the
rescuers who scaled the ride to reach Hill was Evans employee Richard
Wells. He said carnival employees attend safety classes and watch
instructional tapes in case such an incident happens. The wheel, he
said, "is easy to climb, if you know how." |