Tragic Descent at North Yakima Fair
A Spokane aeronaut plummeted 900 feet to his death in front of a crowded grandstand.
George Rollo, a Spokane aeronaut, whose second parachute failed to open in a balloon ascension exhibition at the state fair at North Yakima Saturday, fell from a height of 900 feet. The bones of his body were frightfully crushed when he struck inside the racetrack nearly opposite the grandstand, crowded with gay pleasure seekers.
“The bones of his body were frightfully crushed when he struck inside the racetrack.”
This tragedy at the North Yakima (modern Yakima) state fair serves as a grim reminder of the high-risk 'spectacle culture' of the early 20th century. Public appetite for dangerous aerial stunts frequently led to industrial-level accidents long before modern safety regulations existed.
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