Tragedy at the Fairgrounds
A stunt performance ends in a fatal fall before a crowd of thousands in North Yakima.
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 nearly opposite the grandstand.”
Early 20th-century aviation was a high-risk spectacle that often ended in public tragedy. The fairgrounds in North Yakima (now Yakima) were a hub for such dangerous entertainment, predating modern safety regulations in thrill-seeking events.
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