Man catches teen falling from park ride: ‘It’s OK to let go’

In this June 24, 2017, image made from a video provided by Leeann Winchell, a 14-year-old girl falls from an amusement park ride at Six Flags Great Escape Amusement Park in Queensbury, N.Y. After she lost her grip on the slow-moving gondola ride Saturday she fell into a crowd of park guests and employees gathered under the ride to catch her before she hit the ground. The teen, from Greenwood, Delaware, was taken to Albany Medical Center in stable condition with no serious injuries, the Warren County Sheriff's Office said. (Leeann Winchell via AP) In this June 24, 2017, image made from a video provided by Leeann Winchell, a 14-year-old girl falls from an amusement park ride at Six Flags Great Escape Amusement Park in Queensbury, N.Y. After she lost her grip on the slow-moving gondola ride Saturday she fell into a crowd of park guests and employees gathered under the ride to catch her before she hit the ground. The teen, from Greenwood, Delaware, was taken to Albany Medical Center in stable condition with no serious injuries, the Warren County Sheriff's Office said. (Leeann Winchell via AP)

By Associated Press June 25, 2017 3 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Matthew Howard Sr. was just leaving a New York amusement park Saturday evening with his family when he heard someone screaming for help.

He looked up to see a young girl dangling about 25 feet (about 8 meters) off the ground from a slow-moving gondola ride. Her little brother sat next to her in the green two-person pod, crying hysterically, saying he couldn’t hold on.

Howard, 47, and his 21-year-old daughter, Leeann Winchell, positioned themselves under the girl as the ride stopped and security came running. A crowd of onlookers gathered, many filming, others calling for help.

“I said: ‘It’s ‘OK! It’s OK to let go, I’ll catch you, honey,'” said Howard.

The girl lost her grip and fell down where Howard and Winchell, arms outstretched, waited with a few other good Samaritans. The two took the brunt of the girl’s fall, tumbling to the ground themselves after the catch. They and others carried to her to where emergency workers later arrived to help her.