Back to the Future II: Hoverboard Accident

From IMDB ((Cheryl Wheeler Duncan, stunt double for Darlene Vogel, was injured during filming of the hoverboard sequence when, due to a technical mishap, instead of flying through the fake glass in the courthouse, she careened into the concrete pillar and then dropped thirty feet on to the concrete below. They didn't re-shoot the scene, and you can clearly see her hitting the pillar and falling to the ground in the final film.)) 

I really love the second movie, but know that a major accident was caught on film and kept in the movie.  You can see Griff’s female henchmen cash into the real pillar in that show and she hits it hard.  Then, you can see her fall in real time to real floor without a safety mattress.  In the movie, you can see her body bounce off the ground just before the cut.   So, she hit the pillar hard and fell and bounced.  Ouch.  

So, Wheeler fell flat on her face onto the concrete and it was caught on tape and shown in the movie.  Unlike some of the other stunts, she had to trust the effects team to keep her safe and there was nothing she could do to stop the accident.   

From Io9,((Which might have happened if he had stayed outside the pillar. Or if the special effects team hadn’t gone with opaque trick glass. Or if there wasn’t so much smoke from the rocket. Or if she had gone with her gut and gotten answers to her questions. But that wasn’t what happened. He pressed the button and the stunt performers were released. As two other stuntmen headed toward the blue pads, Wheeler fell flat, like she was lying in bed, from thirty feet in the air. She knew she was going to die.)) 

She was so messed up that she was laying in her own blood.  I had no idea it turned out this bad.   

She discussed the accident years later on FOX.  You can tell she is still shaken by the accident.  BTW, she looks amazing.  Check out her arms.  She has been in a lot major movies doing big stunts since BTTF2.  She can clearly kick my ass and I’d be okay with that.   

Anyway, I will always see her hit that pillar and fall to the ground on every re-watch.