Karel Soucek was a Czech-born Canadian daredevil best known for surviving a trip over Niagara Falls in a purpose-built barrel on July 2, 1984.
On July 3, 1984, The Associated Press reported that Karel Soucek, a Canadian motorcycle stuntman, was the first person to challenge Niagara Falls in 23 years. After his 176 foot plunge, his first words to reporters from a Hamilton newspaper were, “I am the last of the Niagara Daredevils. And I will remain the last of the Niagara Daredevils as long as I live. That means if someone would come here tomorrow and get lucky and make it and survive, then the very next day I would be right back here in Niagara Falls and I would do it again.
He continued by saying “I’ve hit concrete walls at greater speeds than that.” His only injury was a gash on his head that required seven stitches.
Over the years there have been eight attempts, including Soucek’s, to ride the falls in barrels; five people have survived.
A park police constable reported that Soucek’s barrel came to rest on rocks at the base of Horseshoe Falls – on the Canadian side. Incidentally, the stunt is illegal under the laws of both the United States and Canada. Niagara Park Police Corporal, Jack Slater told reporters that Soucek will be charged and, if found guilty, will likely be fined $50.
It was a stunt the made him world famous and rich, but just seven months later he was dead.
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Karel Soucek’s death occurred because of a dare-devil stunt on January 19, 1985, when he attempted a barrel drop from the ceiling at the center of the Houston Astrodome in Texas.
His intention was to fall into a water tank. Reports state that the barrel began spinning during the descent and did not land in the center of the tank as intended. Instead, it struck the rim of the tank. The impact caused Soucek catastrophic injuries, including severe trauma to his chest, abdomen, and skull. Although he was removed from the barrel alive and rushed to Ben Taub Hospital, he died shortly afterward on January 20, 1985, at age 37.
One widely reported detail is that foam pads intended to cushion the impact had floated to the surface before the stunt, reducing their effectiveness.
The tragic irony of Soucek’s story is that he had successfully survived one of the world’s most famous and dangerous stunts, going over Niagara Falls, only to be killed later in a shorter barrel-drop exhibition intended to help finance a Niagara Falls museum project.
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Although the intent was honorable – new museums are always welcome – the method of fun raising was – in the mind of many too dangerous and completely foolhardy.
A feature columnist at the Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) Spectator opined that “Blood and blame [were] spread thin” when she prepared her contribution to the Thursday, January 24, 1985, issue of her newspaper.
She asked, “Can’t help thinking about the folks, all 40,000 of them, who paid their money last weekend to watch Karel Soucek die. What’s the going rate these days for a front row seat to a suicide? The psyches of the sad souls who dared the devil for fun and profit are not the subject of this column. This is a wonderment about those who help it happen, the ones who dare the daredevil.
One of Karel Soucek’s sidekicks suggested The Almighty was the blame for this most recent demise. “We did all we could,” he said. “We did everything we were instructed to do. That’s all you can do. Then it’s in God’s hands.”
The blood and the blame were spread pretty thin on this one, but to suggest heaven had anything to do with Karel Soucek’s stunt is taking things a bit too far.
Perhaps the saddest irony is that in a perverse sort of way, Karel Soucek did successfully defy one of nature’s greatest obstacles – once. For what it was worth, he and his barrel came up first against the foam and fury of Niagara Falls in July of 1984.
Wasn’t that enough?
When he cracks his skull and dies in a rusty tank of tap water in the Houston Astrodome, was he anything more than a performer, at the 19th annual Thrill Show and Destruction Derby?
Is this a road to glory?
The title says it all. A lot of people pay to watch bull fights, Rodeos and in the early days of wing walkers what were the crowds really hoping to see. Also mountain climbers, boxing matches, auto racing. All the death defying acts people have dreamed up. It gives one something to ponder.
Mike