A skydiver taking part in America's 250th birthday celebrations crashed while parachuting with a large American flag attached to his parachute.
What happened to the skydiver
According to the Daily Beast, Ross Vail was landing near the Folsom Pro Rodeo in California when the large American flag attached to his parachute became caught in a tree. The flag pulled him off course, sending him crashing into a tent. He narrowly missed the grandstands and the crowd, who gasped as they watched him fall.
Another report said Vail was gliding smoothly toward the arena near Sacramento with the large American flag flying behind him. However, the landing went wrong when the flag got caught in a nearby tree, causing him to lose control and crash.
Videos has been shared on social media of the incident. Here is the video:
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Skydiver escapes with minor injury
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Skydiver escapes with minor injury
{{/usCountry}}A spokesperson for Choose Folsom, which organizes the annual event, told The Sacramento Bee: “Yesterday's landing was certainly not the landing he intended, but thankfully, the skydiver is doing well.” The skydiver cut his lip but was able to resume parachuting the following day and no other injuries were reported, as per the Daily Beast.
In a statement issued after the incident, Folsom Pro Rodeo organizers praised Vail's composure following the crash, revealing he was so unfazed by the ordeal that he was already planning to jump again the very next night. “On behalf of the Folsom Pro Rodeo and Choose Folsom, our skydiver Ross is safe and walked into our arena, post jump, to a standing ovation,” the statement read. “He will be skydiving into our arena again tonight, July 3rd,” as per Unilad.
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The Folsom Pro Rodeo has included a special skydiving display for several years. Before the rodeo begins, a skydiver carrying a large American flag lands inside the arena to kick off the event, according to Unilad.
This year marked the rodeo's 65th anniversary. The event is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and celebrates the “tradition and excitement” of rodeo.
Extreme heat forces cancellation of Washington, DC parade
Organizers of Saturday's Independence Day parade in Washington DC suddenly cancelled the event the night before it was supposed to happen. This was because of extremely hot weather hitting the nation's capital and the east coast, which affected celebrations for America's 250th birthday, as per Guardian.
The event was organized by the National Park Service and was supposed to start at 10.30am on Saturday. But organizers cancelled the parade after the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning.
Temperatures in Washington DC were expected to go as high as 102F (39C), with the heat index (how hot it actually feels) reaching between 110 and 115F (43-46C).