Frightening moment California daredevil’s human cannonball stunt goes wrong in front of stunned crowd
An experienced stuntman is on the road to recovery after he was seriously injured when a gust of wind caused his world-renowned human cannonball act to go awry in front of a stunned crowd.
Chachi Valencia, known as The Rocketman Valencia, was performing the stunt at the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival in Indio, Calif., when he was blown off course on March 2.
Valencia missed the precise landing spot on his safety net, bounced back into the air and crashed down onto the concrete beneath him.
“Taking it day by day with my faithful pup by his side,” Valencia wrote in an update posted on his GoFundMe Monday, along with a picture of his arm in a cast, relaxing beside his dog.
“Grateful for time to heal and soak up all the love and snuggles. Here’s to brighter days ahead.”
A video of the frightening stunt taken by a Festivalgoer shows Valencia dressed in a yellow jumpsuit being fired out of a massive cannon.
However, as he flew through the air, a gust of wind pushed him off course and propelled him toward a safety narrow safety net suspended up in the air on poles.
The stuntman’s body landed on the side of the net, which sent him back into the air.
Horrified festivalgoers watched as the daredevil’s body spun in the air for moments before the violent collision.
Festival workers quickly rushed over to Valencia as he lay motionless on the ground.
The sixth-generation circus performer was rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed with broken ribs, a wrist, and a lacerated liver, according to his GoFundMe.
“Beyond the physical pain, the medical bills are already mounting, and the road to recovery will be long,” his son, David Valencia, wrote.
“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.”
The free-flying performer remembered being pushed “all the way over to the edge of the net” before he blacked out.
“From then on, I don’t remember anything until I was in the ambulance and on the way to the hospital,” Valencia told NBC 5 on March 7.
The death-defying stunt — which requires a precise calculation for him to pull off the 300 to 500 times a year he performs the act for crowds around the globe — by taking all elements into effect when mapping out his trajectory, he told USA Today.
The stuntman said he had practiced the stunt with the wind in consideration the day before, but when he was performing the act during showtime, the gust that hit him was more powerful than he had prepared for and pushed him directly back.
He was just 15 minutes into his performance when the terrifying incident happened.
Valencia stayed at a relative’s house in California following the accident but has since returned to his home in North Texas.
He said he hopes to be able to return to performing his beloved stunt for fans as soon as possible.
Valencia, who’s been involved in the human cannonball act for three decades, is shot from a cannon and hits 55 mph in speed as he’s launched 65 feet in the air to land on the net perched 20 feet off the ground, according to his website.
Valencia told USA Today that for the first 15 years of being involved in the stunt, he shot his now ex-wife out of the cannon before taking over.
He has performed his human cannonball act on some of the biggest stages imaginable.
The free-flying stuntman was televised being shot out of the canon during the 2012 London Olympics’ closing ceremonies, at Rio De Janeiro’s 2014 Carnival competition, and in front of NASCAR fans at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2022, according to his website.
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