Woman in critical condition after Punkin Chunkin accident

There has been general Cellar Punkin Chunkin interest here since its IotDing in 2002, and I know some of us have attended or tried to attend.

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2016/11/06/injury-punkin-chunkin-sends-one-hospital/93394698/

They had to medivac a woman to the local megahospital, where she remains in critical condition, because this happened:

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What a terrible outcome...

Meanwhile, apparently the Chunkin has had a tough time getting insurance all along, and this will surely be the end of it, at least at its current location/incarnation.

~ they could just outlaw the air cannons, and just stick with the trebuchets and whatnot, but... right to bear arms and all that ~

Son1 has been going for years. He said he heard an explosion, but didn't see anything.

She got chunked in her punkin by a chunk of punkin chunker.

:lol: a hunk o' junk chunker

Yeah, this is probably it. They didn't hold it for the past 2 years.

UT, the Catapults, trebuchet, and centrifugal are more dangerous. This is the first time I've heard of an incident with an air cannon, but I've seen a pumpkin go backwards from one of the other machines on more than 1 occasion.

I wasn't there this year - they changed the rules about where you can party. It would have been $300 to park in the VIP tailgating section on Saturday, and that's the only place you can loiter and drink.:sniff:

so what happened? that piece of metal that flew back hit her? or was that a piece of her flying through the air?

Original story said what blew off was the door, where the pumpkins are loaded into the cannon.

Action News story doesn't add much but says

Spectator David Aronson, 52, of Falls Church, Virginia, said he was about 25 yards behind the cannon when it exploded. He said it had just fired a pumpkin when a piece blew off the launcher that was the size of a car door.

"It arcs down on this woman who is running away as it hits her," he said.

Aronson said the woman appeared motionless as people gathered around her. A short time later, the competition's announcer asked the crowd to pray as she was flown to a hospital. The announcer then said the contest was over, Aronson said.

turrible

The pictures at the bottom of the first link show what looks like a door laying on the ground next to her.

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Rhoda and I tried to go one year when it was still in Millsboro, but it was insane trying to get there.