ST. PETERSBURG — The show must go on.
16 Hours Ago
7 Months Ago
5 Months Ago
While practicing a high-wire pyramid act some 30-feet in the air on Wednesday for an upcoming Circus Sarasota show, famed tightrope walker Nik Wallenda was among those who lost balance.
He caught himself to prevent an injury.
Five others were not so lucky, fell 30 feet and were injured.
Nik's cousin Rick Wallanda is still scheduled to perform his death defying craft at St. Petersburg's Sundial this Saturday at 5 p.m. despite Wednesday's fall being a reminder of the dangers of what he does.
He will cross the courtyard by walking a cable no bigger than an index finger, without the use of a harness of safety net.
Prior to the skywalk, there will be other circus-themed performers beginning at 4 p.m.
Participating Sundial retailers will donate proceeds back to Habitat for Humanity.
Circus Sarasota is also still opening on Friday. A different act will take the tightrope walkers' places.
Four of the five who fell suffered trauma. Three were brought to one hospital and the other two, to other hospitals.
All three brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital are expected to survive, said Dr. Alan Brockhurst, the trauma medical director.
"One of them currently is in operating room; two, in the ICU," he said Wednesday afternoon.
One is in guarded condition. The circus is still expected to open under the white and red tent Friday, organizers said.
Pedro Reis, founder and CEO of the Sarasota Circus Arts Conservatory, which puts on the show, said during a news conference Wednesday that nothing was wrong with the rigging but that some performers lost their balance.
It is unclear whether there was any sort of safety net or tether. Lusby said she wasn't sure and referred questions to Circus Sarasota; a call to the circus was not immediately returned.
Rick Wallenda who will be performing in St. Petersburg is the third generation of the Flying Wallendas to walk tight ropes.
Patriach and matriarch Karl and his Jenny Wallenda brought the act to the Ringling Brothers Circus in the 1920s, debuting with at Madison Square Garden, according to the family's official website.
The Wallenda family holds multiple world records for their stunts, including the highest blindfolded tight rope and crossing Niagara Falls
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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