The parade had begun with winds just under the maximum allowable speed, but as the balloons entered the open area of Times Square, an area known to the balloon pilots as problematic, the wind currents caused the balloons to behave erratically. The 515-pound balloon hit an office building and the streetlight as its 50 handlers struggled to regain control. One woman and her younger sister, who uses a wheelchair, were hit by the falling light and escaped with minor injuries. A similar incident happened in 1997 along Central Park West that required Macy's to replace streetlights along the parade route, but it was one of those redesigned lights that toppled down on the two sisters.