During its live coverage of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, NBC did not tell viewers that a giant balloon had caught on a street lamp and injured two sisters.At the point in the broadcast when the "M&M's Chocolate Candies" balloon was supposed to have crossed the finish line, announcers Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker stuck close to their scripts and the network ran footage of the balloon from last year's parade. Couric told the audience they were seeing old footage and bantered with Lauer and Roker, but there was no further mention of the accident. An NBC spokeswoman said Friday that producers knew something had happened with the balloon but didn't know exactly what.
The accident happened in Times Square, where the balloon's tethers became entangled on the head of a street lamp and knocked part of it off. Sarah and Mary Chamberlain, 11 and 26, were hit by the debris. Sarah needed nine stitches to her head, and Mary, who uses a wheelchair, suffered a bump on her forehead.
Their father, Stephen Chamberlain, called it a freak accident and said the family didn't plan to sue. He said his daughters are looking forward to the special VIP seating Macy's offered them for next year's parade. The street lamp had been among those replaced following a similar incident in 1997 that seriously injured two people. The old lamp posts had arms that extended over the parade route. The new posts are lighter and smaller.