MARION, Ohio — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday night, a 56-year-old man was hit by a monster truck during a show at the county fairgrounds.
The man was a part of the event’s safety staff and was flown to Grant Medical Center for treatment. The extent of the man's injuries is unknown at this time.
Dave Johnson was at the show and saw it all unfold.
“I could tell he was hit and I was in shock. Everyone that was on the floor was rushing to the guy's aide. Immediately calling for medics and emergency personnel,” said Johnson.
Johnson said first responders in the stands started rushing to the man to try and help. Then, the rest of the crowd was asked to leave.
“It was chaotic there because everyone was rushed to get out of the building,” he said.
Amber Cook and her three kids were at the show. She said it shocked everyone.
“It all kind of like was a movie. Everything went completely silent and it seemed very unreal,” said Cook.
Johnson said he was hoping the incident wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
“I sat there and said a prayer you know. It’s almost like when you watch stuff you think this guy will get up and wave his hand like ‘I’m okay’ and that didn’t happen,” he said.
Johnson said he thinks the arena is a little too small for monster truck shows.
“It is a smaller venue to me, it’s really not much bigger than a high school gym. There’s not a lot of room for these trucks to be running,” said Johnson
He hopes that more safety protocol is put into place.
“It’s definitely something they need to look into to prevent this from happening again. It seems like something that could have been prevented,” he said.
As for Cook and her family, she said it was her first and likely last monster truck show for now.
“I myself probably wouldn’t go back to one of them for a while. Because it's an image that’s not going to get out of your head very easy” said Cook.