ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701270029
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: Associated Press
A bungee-jumper practicing for the Super Bowl halftime show died after her head struck the Superdome's floor, prompting the National Football League to cancel the routine.
Laura Patterson, 43, of Sarasota, Fla., was pronounced dead of massive head injuries after being taken to the hospital late Thursday.
Patterson was part of a 16-member professional bungee-jumping group, which included her husband and sister. She was wearing headgear, but it wasn't immediately clear whether it was part of her costume or a helmet.
Because of the accident, Frito-Lay Inc. pulled a commercial from the Super Bowl telecast that shows comedian Chris Elliott seemingly bungee-jumping from a blimp into a stadium to dip a tortilla chip into a jar of salsa. It has run frequently on TV before.
As many as 750 people were rehearsing in the dome at the time of the accident, shortly after 10 p.m.
Eddie Chelette, a volunteer stage hand, said there were nine jumpers rehearsing the stunt from the uppermost Terrace Level, more than 100 feet above the field.
``She jumped and, when she came back up, she was limp,'' he said. ``She hit her head hard.''
The rehearsal was to have been the last before Sunday's performance.
``School kids who were dancing, they were crying,'' Chelette said. ``Everyone else was walking around in a daze.''
Select Productions International, which is producing the show, refused to discuss the accident.
``I don't have all the specifics but, as I understand it, the routine was in the nature of a circus act and it happened toward the end of the halftime show,'' NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said early Friday.
He said the bungee-jumping stunt would not be used in the show.
The $1.2 million halftime show features James Brown, rock group ZZ Top, and actors Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi and John Goodman.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITY FOOTBALLby CNB