fears come true

Clown Breaks Reporter’s Face During Halloween Parade in the Village

Riding one of the floats at the annual Halloween parade in the Village was probably supposed to be one of the more low-stress human-interest assignments for Emmy-winning WPIX reporter Arthur Chi’en. At worst, he might get some candy pelted at him; at best, he would see some revelers prepping their outfits for the gay-pride parade that so terrified Carl Paladino. Instead, Chi’en got his face shattered in six places by a man in a clown costume. Coulrophobics, your fears are totally rational — don’t let your shrink tell you otherwise. Just as the float neared 14th Street, the clown tried to climb on board, grabbing Chi’en’s arm and pulling him down as the railing gave way. “We both fell, but I landed face-first in the street,” says Chi’en, whose assaulter fled the scene. The reporter, who’s undergoing reconstructive surgery today, faces at least a month of recovery. That’s it, we’re adding this to our list of New York nightmares.

Emmy-winning WPIX reporter Arthur Chi’en’s face [NYDN]
Related: An Air Conditioner Fell Six Stories and Landed on Someone’s Head

Clown Breaks Reporter’s Face During Halloween Parade in the Village