Donte Stallworth in hospital after hot air balloon accident

After the incident, it was quickly reported that Stallworth’s injuries -- primarily burns -- wouldn’t derail his football career, as he was lucky not to suffer worse injuries after his balloon flew into power lines.

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Stallworth said that the first sign of trouble came when the hot air balloon operator had to radio to the ground crew that they would not be able to land at the original location due to high winds, and they had spotted a secondary location to land. The operator gave his ground crew directions and told them to wait for the balloon to arrive.

There were power lines between the secondary landing site and the balloon. The operator had given Stallworth an anchor-like weight that would help them land once they cleared the power lines and told him that he could drop it over the side when he was instructed to do so. The balloon never made it past the power lines, though.