Drivers in the American town of Dubuque, Iowa, were left stunned when a giant inflatable pumpkin broke free during strong winds and bounced down a busy street, crashing into parked cars.
Drivers in the American town of Dubuque, Iowa, were left stunned when a giant inflatable pumpkin broke free during strong winds and bounced down a busy street, crashing into parked cars. The incident unfolded ahead of the town’s Pumpkinfest celebrations, turning an oversized Halloween decoration into an unexpected traffic hazard.
According to Metro, security and traffic cameras captured the massive orange inflatable rolling uncontrollably along the road, resembling a giant boulder from an Indiana Jones movie. The footage later surfaced on social media, quickly going viral as amused users compared the runaway pumpkin to a real-life action sequence.
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Pam McCarron, a driver who found herself directly in the pumpkin’s path, said the bizarre encounter was anything but ordinary.
"This is not AI-generated. This actually truly happened, and I was the car involved in this. 'I think I was pretty calm, but you don't see that every day.'" McCarron told local news channel WMBF.
Recalling the nerve-racking moment, McCarron said she immediately wondered whether the enormous inflatable would slam into her vehicle or even roll over it.
"Is it gonna hit me? Is it gonna hit my car? Is it gonna like go over my car?" she added.
The pumpkin's enormous size also made it difficult for her to see what lay beyond the runaway decoration, raising concerns about approaching traffic.
"It's big enough that I couldn't see around it to know if there was anything on the other side, when [the inflatable] was on the other side of the street. I was like, I don't know if there's a car coming."
There were no major damage or reported injuries. City officials later shared the traffic footage online, poking fun at the incident and reassuring residents that no vehicles, parking meters, or pumpkins were seriously hurt during the chaotic episode.
However, the incident was not entirely amusing for local authorities, who recognised the potential danger posed by the airborne Halloween decoration.
"I was like, boy, that's a big pumpkin, so obviously the police officer side of me was like, we don't really need those things bouncing down the roadway," Dubuque Police Lt. Luke Bock said, as quoted by the media outlet.
Reflecting on the viral footage, Bock acknowledged that while the spectacle was entertaining, it could easily have ended differently.
"It's entertaining. Like it's funny to watch it, but you just, I guess, a lot of times you think about what could have happened, what if?"
Following the incident, city officials urged residents to take precautions when putting up Halloween decorations, particularly as strong winds can turn unsecured inflatables into dangerous projectiles.
"We love seeing all of the Halloween decorations around town. But be sure you secure your front porch ghosts, 12-foot skeletons, and giant inflatable pumpkins so they don't end up flying away!" the city council said.
