Video: Biker crashes at Saginaw circus

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) - A motorcycle stunt man who plunged 25 feet to the ground during a circus performance said Monday he'll ride again after he recovers from a broken leg and other injuries.

"It's all I do. It's how I make a living," Josh Headford, 20, told The Associated Press before he was taken in to surgery.


 

Headford's motocross bike hit a cable Sunday at the Shrine Circus in Saginaw. Spectators were stunned as he crashed to the floor at the Dow Event Center.

"I need a doctor immediately. This is not part of the performance," the ringmaster declared, according to a video of the incident.

Headford, who was wearing a helmet and pads, said the cable should have been lowered or removed by circus staff. He said he has a broken leg, wrist, elbow and shoulder after falling to the ground.

"As soon as I saw the cable, it caught my bike and I went flying. That was pretty much it," said Headford, a Flint-area native who lives in Menominee County in the Upper Peninsula. "It was like hitting a brick wall. I thought I was done -- but I'm not."

He said it wasn't his responsibility to check for the cable. Circus owner Brett Carden said it's a risky business.

"What are you going to change?" Carden told The Saginaw News. "These are professionals, and they're supposed to check everything and make sure it's good to go."

Dion Mason of Saginaw said he witnessed the crash with four children.

"We thought it was part of the show," Mason said. "Then there was just shock and disbelief. We were just like everyone else. We couldn't see the extent of the injuries but we were shocked."

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The videos are courtesy YouTube

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Information from: The Saginaw News