A hot air balloon hits power lines just after bride-to-be accepts proposal in Sellersburg, Indiana. (PHOTO: Kelly Bayens)
From Jake Carpenter
(CNN) — A marriage proposal in southern Indiana concluded with a shock and trips to local hospitals late Wednesday, when the hot air balloon carrying the future bride and groom hit a power line and knocked the pilot unconscious, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.
The airborne proposition was heading for a happy end, as the balloon began to land at about 8 p.m. in Sellersburg, Indiana, just north of Louisville, Kentucky.
“When the basket touched the ground, the female said ‘yes’ to the engagement,” said Major Chuck Adams with the Clark County, Indiana Sheriff’s office.
But they had landed on a patch overgrown with tall grass, so the pilot and balloon owner, Dallas Beall, who owns a jewelry store in Louisville, boosted the balloon “and tried to land again, and that’s when it hit the wires,” Adams said.
The basket holding the passengers made contact with the power lines.
An electric shock knocked Beall out, who fell into the bride-to-be giving her an electric jolt as well. The future groom gave Beall CPR, possibly reviving him.
“The pilot was conscious when my officers arrived on scene,” Adams said.
The pilot and bride-to-be were transferred to hospitals, said Dennis Blake, emergency dispatcher in Clark County, Indiana.
Both were treated on the scene for burns, said Adams, who did not believe the injuries were life threatening.
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