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If you were looking for one more reason not to ride the rides at the State Fair or your local carnival, how about this story from Port Orange, Florida.

The ride operator (read: Meth addict) operating the "Crazy Bus" at the Port Orange Carnival forgot to apply the safety brake as folks were getting off the ride. Not surprisingly, the ride rose back into the air. Most folks were still inside the ride. Unfortunately, a mother and her young daughter were caught half in and half out of the ride as it ascended some 40 feet in the air. Thanks to a group of good samaritans this story has a happy ending. According to witnesses, the mother managed to hold on to the "Crazy Bus" with one hand and her daughter with the other for nearly three minutes, during that time a group of ten to twelve on-lookers formed a circle underneath the pair and urged the mother to drop her daughter into their waiting arms.

The mother, one Sheri Pinkerton, said later, "There was nothing I could do. I could not hold both of us. I held on to her as long as I could. I let go of her and she grabbed my shirt so I had to pry her hands off my shirt and let her fall."

The catch was made successfully and amazingly both mother and daughter survived the trauma unharmed.

Labels: Pop Culture, Practical Advice