THE BALLOON MAN

Circus worker dies in freak bicycle accident in New York

Updated: Jun 17, 2012 5:21 AM EDT 

Source: New York Post

NEW YORK -- A circus worker died in a freak bicycle accident when he slammed into an open car door on a Queens street and was impaled on his bike's handlebars, sources said.

The man, aged in his early 30s, peddled into the driver's-side door of a parked Toyota Camry on Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows at around 8:10pm local time Saturday, police said.

"The handlebar went right through his jugular," said Jackie Brocchini, 42, of Whitestone.

"The blood was pouring out like a fire hydrant," he said. "I started saying the 'Our Father' over him in the street."

Other witnesses tried to stop his blood with their shirts, but he died later at a Queens hospital, the sources said.

The victim was a lighting technician for the Big Apple Circus, which pitched its tents in nearby Cunningham Park.

Circus manager Tom Larson called the victim "an immensely valuable part of our circus family."

No criminality is suspected, police said.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/18807675/circus-worker-dies-in-freak-bicycle-accident-in-new-york#ixzz1y32f1PtY