14 DAY TRIAL // Student Samuel Koch bet that he could somersault over moving cars on the incredibly popular television show Wetten, Dass? (Want to Bet?). At his fourth jump, something went wrong and he landed flat on his face – he is now in critical condition.
As The Telegraph reports, the show, the most popular program of its kind in Europe, has people betting the host Thomas Gottschalk that they can perform various stunts in front of the camera.
Koch said that he could jump over cars coming at him with a speed of 15 miles per hour, using special springs called power jumpers, or kangaroo shoes. He would then somersault and land on his feet.
The fourth car, an Audi, was driven by his father. Koch gave the signal and started running towards it. Until minutes before impact, no one could tell something had gone wrong.
The student landed on his face – by all signs, he wasn’t moving. When he realized what had just happened, Gottschalk called for a doctor, while the cameras moved away from the scene, focusing on the faces of the other guests on the show.
“As the audience fell silent, the ZDF network immediately cancelled the show, instead showing clips of previous episodes,” The Telegraph reports.
About 30 minutes later, the live transmission started again, with the host saying that Kotch “can feel his legs and that he can also speak.” Also then, Gottschalk apologized for all those who’d seen the incident, saying he’d never expected the stunt to go wrong.
“This is the first time in my career that the absolutely worst thing has happened. I’m utterly sorry,” the host said. Though his words gave hope to all those who’d watched the failed stunt, the doctor treating Koch says his condition remains critical.
Koch underwent emergency surgery at the University Clinic in Düsseldorf, with Dr. Wolfgang Raab telling the media he’d received serious injuries to his neck and spine, and may remain paralyzed as a consequence.
“[He shows] signs of paralysis. There is no acute risk of death, but the patient is in an extremely critical condition,” Dr. Raab is quoted as saying.
Take That and Justin Bieber were supposed to perform on the show after the stunt – their appearances were canceled.