On Wednesday, July 26, the Ohio State Fair in Columbus opened its doors for the public to enjoy. That evening, however, chaos ensued as one of the rides at the fair malfunctioned, sending people flying into the air. The accident left one dead and seven injured, three of those injured being in critical condition.
The Fire Ball
The ride, called the Fire Ball, is a spinning pendulum ride that debuted back in 2002. It consists of at least six carts -- each cart containing four seats -- that spin around while the entire structure moves like a pendulum.
The ride swings riders over 40 feet above the midway and at around 14 revolutions per minute.
A video circulating on social media shows the exact moment when the ride malfunctioned. In the video, one of the carts near the bottom of the pendulum breaks loose from the ride, tossing its passengers 20 to 30 feet into the air. The chaotic scene is followed by workers placing barriers around the growing crowd as medics tend to the injured.
Witness Rhonda Burgess said that she saw two people fly at least 20 feet into the air before landing on their backs on the concrete below. Another witness who was in line said that people started running toward the scene. She got trampled over as a result despite trying to avoid the chaos that ensued.
Three patients were transported to ohio state university Medical Center. Of those three was a critically injured 13-year-old girl. The one deceased victim was only 18 years old.
Like a high-speed car crash
According to David Evans, the director at Ohio State University Medical Center, the video of the incident is helping medical personnel identify certain types of injuries that could have resulted from the accident.
He said that the incident proved to be similar to a high-speed vehicle crash with an ejection, judging from both the speed and force of the impact involved.
Ohio Governor John Kasich sent his condolences on the matter and ordered a full investigation of the incident at the Ohio State Fair. The governor also ordered that all rides at the fair are to be shut down until safety inspections have been completed.
Still open to the public
According to The Columbus Dispatch, safety inspections had indeed taken place earlier that week. Mike Vartorella, the chief inspector of the Amusement Ride Safety Division, claimed that the ride was inspected three or four times just two days before the fair opened. He said that these inspections were performed by a third party as well as himself.
The Ohio State Fair will be open to the public again starting Thursday, but all rides will be closed for safety inspections until further notice.
