Seven people suffered minor injuries when a runaway electric cart raced unmanned from an end zone to midfield and plowed into several people after a high school football playoff game at Cowboys Stadium.
The incident happened after Spring Dekaney beat Cibolo Steele, 34-14, to win the Texas 5A Division II football title in Arlington on Saturday night.
Arlington Fire Lt. Darrel Whitfield said Sunday that of the seven treated for minor injuries at the stadium, one man with leg abrasions was taken to nearby Arlington Memorial Hospital for a precautionary examination.
The electric-powered cart toppled Spring Dekaney coach Willie Amendola, who was being interviewed near the Cowboys midfield star, along with several others clustered about moments after Dekaney had beaten Cibolo Steele 34-14. Hundreds of people were scattered about the field or were still in the stands at the time.
Televised footage showed a stunned Amendola falling backwards into the cart's passenger seat as it continued racing across the field — near the end of an unmanned trajectory that lasted merely seconds.
He apparently tried unsuccesfully to gain control of the cart, spinning the steering wheel with his left hand, before rolling out onto the artificial turf. As he tumbled out, a pursuing field worker finally hopped aboard and gained control, stopping the cart swiftly.
"We have a disturbance down the field. Apparently one of the carts on the field got loose and I think there have been some folks injured in this. Oh my! That's like a runaway cart there. And it finally took someone to stop it," a shaken announcer is heard commenting on air during the sequence. "That's a scary thing."
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Afterward, televised broadcasts showed Amendola conducting another interview with a small streak of blood on his left forearm.
Others are seen laying on the ground afterward as emergency personnel rushed to their aid. One man sprawled motionless was comforted by an emergency technician while, nearby, a police officer helped another stunned man to his feet.
It was unclear why or how the cart began moving under its own power. Stadium workers were picking up fluorescent orange sideline yard markers and pylons in one of the end zones after the game when the cart unexpectedly took off.
