Nikolas Wallenda was born 40 years ago in Sarasota. With three TV specials involving Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and Chicago, he's not a worldwide celebrity.
Nik Wallenda, his sister Lijana and others were practicing an eight-person pyramid for an upcoming show when suddenly performers lost their balance and tumbled more than 30-feet to the ground.
On Tuesday, Nik and his team worked through the night rigging a highwire between two skyscrapers, but it proved to be more challenging than they ever imagined.
The accident involving Circus Sarasota happened in February 2017 at the Circus Arts Conservatory, the big top tent next to the mall at University Town Center. Five people in an eight-person pyramid fell from the 28-foot high wire.
Troopers say around 7:30am, a Sarasota County school bus was on the I-75 southbound exit ramp, coming onto Clark Road, when 55-year-old James Rizza of North Port ran a red light, crashing his Kia Forte into the left side of the school bus.
