Drones Fall From Sky at Holiday Show and Injure 7-year-old Boy
A Florida drone show went awry over the weekend when the flying devices crashed and fell out of the sky, frightening spectators—and injuring a young boy who was rushed to the hospital.
Footage of the Saturday evening show at Lake Eola Park in Orlando posted to social media showed drones falling and crashing into each other as spectators shout, “Watch out! Watch out!”
According to News 6 WKMG, the FAA said that “several small drones collided and fell into a crowd during a holiday drone show,” and that it was investigating.
A spokesperson for the Orlando Fire Department told the outlet that one person was sent to the hospital for a minor injury.
The victim was identified by his family as 7-year-old boy.
On Facebook, Jessica Lumedge shared a post that claimed that a drone hit her son in the chest, and that he was awaiting surgery. The post included a photo of a boy with a busted lip in a hospital bed.
The boy’s other mother, Adriana Edgerton, posted another photo, and said that he was going to be receiving emergency heart surgery.
“God please be with me! My baby is going into emergency heart surgery off of just trying to watch a drone show at Lake Eola Park! I am beyond words beyond terrified,” she wrote to her Facebook. “City of Orlando - Government and Sky Elements Drones really have some explaining to do. They will be held accountable for what was done to my son. I pray he makes it out of this.”
So apparently they had to cancel the 2nd drone show at #LakeEolaPark tonight and I wonder if the drones that got knocked out during the 1st show was the cause 😬 #Orlando pic.twitter.com/xxySjbkohy
— MosquitoCoFL Podcast (@MosquitoCoFL) December 22, 2024
A second drone show was canceled in what the city blamed on “technical difficulties.”
On Facebook, other attendees were describing the frightening scene.
“At the very start of the show drones were released and all of a sudden they started falling from the sky,” wrote a Facebook user. “One zoomed right past a tree we were leaning on and hit a child behind where we were standing. It hit a child in the face, knocked him backwards over the pony wall on to the pavement. It was the scariest freakish accident.”
The city described the show as a “dazzling display of synchronized drones flying in formation to create beautiful holiday-themed designs in the night sky.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, the city said: “We are in contact with the vendor to determine what occurred with the operation. FAA is handling the investigation.”
