A man who makes his living performing around the world as a human cannonball was hospitalized after an injury during his performance at the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival in Indio Sunday, March 2. Authorities said they expected him to fully recover.
During his performance that began at 2:30 p.m., Chachi “The Rocketman” Valencia was injured and transported to a hospital, event organizers said.
Cal Fire/Riverside County said crews were called to the scene around 2:44 p.m. and transported a victim with minor, traumatic injuries.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies dispatched to the scene “discovered a worker was lying on the ground being treated by medical personnel. It was reported the subject had fallen out of a safety net during a performance. The subject was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
In a statement Sunday night, fair officials said: “Riverside County Fairgrounds staff have been informed that Rocketman Valencia will be released from the hospital this evening and is expected to fully recover.”
Fair officials didn’t immediately disclose further information about the circumstances surrounding Valencia’s injury.
Valencia travels the world and performing as a “human cannonball.” He is shot from cannons, traveling up to 55 miles per hour, more than 65 feet above the ground and across 165 feet before landing in a narrow net 20 feet off the ground, according to Valencia’s website. He has performed around the world, including at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2014 Rio De Janeiro Carnival competition.