Circus Acrobat From Champaign Willing To Do Hair-Hanging Act Again

One of eight circus acrobats who plunged about 20 feet to the ground during a hair-hanging act says she'll perform the stunt again.

Samantha Pitard, 23, a Champaign native, was released from a hospital Tuesday.

The Centennial High School graduate and seven other acrobats were performing as a "human chandelier,'' hanging from an apparatus by their hair during a Sunday performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus.

They were injured when a clip at the top of the 350-pound chandelier-like apparatus snapped, dropping them to the ground.  But Pitard tells The Associated Press: "you gotta get back up and do it again.''

Pitard's father is University of Illinois Professor of Religion Studies and Spurlock Museum Director Wayne Pitard, who said Tuesday Samantha was "overwhelmed by the support'' she's received since the accident.
 
She says her injuries were minor and include fractures to her spine, a cut on her head that required three stitches and a badly bitten tongue.