ANDERSON, S.C. --- A Michigan man survived a hot air balloon crash in South Carolina when the balloon's basket got caught in a tree about 10 feet above the ground, authorities said.
Chuck Walz, of Muith, Mich., broke his leg and pelvis Sunday morning in a crash at a balloon festival in northwest South Carolina, officials with the Great Southeast Balloon Fest said.
Mr. Walz's balloon might have been 9,000 feet high when it deflated. The balloon's basket was skewered by a tree branch 10 feet from the ground and stopped the fall, Anderson Fire Chief Jack Abraham said.
After the basket crashed into the tree, Mr. Walz fell from it to the ground. He was conscious when rescuers arrived, authorities said.
"He's alive because he landed in that tree," said Chief Abraham, who added the balloon missed a home by 20 feet.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident and a final report could take a year.
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