Circus Performer Shot in Neck With Arrow at New York County Fair
A crossbow sharpshooting act at the Orange County Fair in Middletown went wrong Friday night, sending a 38-year-old performer to the hospital by air ambulance.
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — A circus performer was accidentally shot in the neck with an arrow during a crossbow act at a county fair in upstate New York, police and organizers said.
The accident happened Friday night at the Orange County Fair in Middletown, northwest of New York City, according to state police.
Ana Daza Tavera, 42, and Edwin Cuervo Rangel, 38, both of Waukesha, Wisconsin, were performing their crossbow sharpshooting act when Daza Tavera accidentally struck her partner in the neck with an arrow as he held up a foam target, police said.
Cuervo Rangel was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition. The circus canceled its performance for the night.
Benjamin Jackson, the ringmaster at Circus Murcia, said Monday that Cuervo Rangel was struck on the side of his neck, in a spot consisting mostly of soft tissue and containing no major blood vessels.
"No blood leaking out. There was a little around the hole where the arrow went in, kind of like getting your ear pierced," Jackson said.
The arrow was safely removed and Cuervo Rangel received stitches, Jackson said. He was released from the hospital Saturday.
The performer will need time to heal before he can return to the ring, but was "walking around, talking, eating, enjoying life," the ringmaster said.
Circus Murcia resumed its regular schedule of three shows a day on Saturday, without the crossbow act.
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