Three girls fall 12 metres from Ferris wheel in Tennessee

THE safety of US amusement rides is being called into question after three young girls plummeted from a Ferris wheel just days after a boy was “decapitated” on a water slide.

INVESTIGATORS are yet to determine how a Ferris wheel seat flipped over at a Tennessee county fair, sending three children plummeting about 12 metres to the ground. But the accident that left a 6-year-old girl with a traumatic brain injury has sharpened the focus on how carnival ride operators are regulated.

The girls, aged six, 10 and 16, tumbled from the ride at the Greene County Fair in Tennessee about 6.15pm Monday (9.15am Tuesday AEST).

Dr. Bracken Burns, director of trauma services for Johnson City Medical Center, said the critically injured 6-year-old was in a seat with her 10-year-old sister and a 16-year-old female, who were both in stable condition. Burns said the 10-year-old suffered injuries to her forearms. He said he couldn’t give out information on injuries that the 16-year-old suffered.

After a 2014 audit found shortcomings in Tennessee’s regulatory program for rides at fairs and amusement parks, state officials decided to get out of the inspection business altogether. Now, the state relies on private inspectors hired by operators and other states’ regulators to determine whether roller coasters, zip lines and Ferris wheels are safe.

In a follow-up to the audit last year, the agency said Tennessee law does not require the state to hire its own inspectors. Funding for the Amusement Device Unit was requested for the budget year ending in June but was denied.

Lawmakers this year did approve nearly $490,000 to bolster the state’s Amusement Device Unit with five new employees. They are not inspectors but will be assigned to work on permitting and verification of compliance with inspection and insurance requirements. Within two years, those jobs are supposed to be paid for through program fees.

The Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair was operated by Valdosta, Georgia-based Family Attractions Amusement. It had received its permit to operate in Tennessee based on an inspection made in Indiana in June.

According to the Greeneville News, the company was fined in 2013 for violating safety laws in North Carolina after a Vortex ride suddenly lurched into motion as riders were disembarking, injuring four riders and a ride operator.

Caney Branch Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ryan Holt stands on the top of a ladder at the Ferris wheel. Picture: Ken Little/Greeneville Sun via AP

This latest case was the eighth injury incident reported to Tennessee authorities on amusement rides this summer. They included fractured wrists and knee caps for a woman ejected from a ride, a broken arm on a roller coaster and injured backs from doing back flips at a trampoline park and being hit from behind on an alpine coaster.

Because of this latest accident, the operators will have to have a new third-party inspection conducted before the ride can qualify for a new annual permit in Tennessee, Labor and Workforce Development spokeswoman Jennifer Farrar said.

WITNESS ACCOUNTS

A witness told ABC News she screamed at the operator to shut down the ride when she realised what was unfolding.

“I was hollering, ‘Please stop! Stop! Stop the machine!’ It seemed like it was a millennium before it stopped,” the witness said.  

“I didn’t see movement. I’d seen blood coming from their mouth. I actually thought they were dead. It was so horrific.”

Law enforcement cordon off the area surrounding the Ferris wheel. Picture: O.J. Early/The Greeneville Sun via AP

Witness Gregory Lynthacum said the girls, from two families, fell when their basket appeared to get caught on another basket.

“It was like watching water pouring from a glass,” he told WATE.com. “They bounced off the metal bridging of the ride and eventually hit the ground.”

Mr Lynthacum said the ride only stopped after people screamed at the ride operators.

From @Ashlyn_M_White, the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair where multiple riders fell 40-50 feet this evening. pic.twitter.com/KiPiUq2FSl

— Darren Reese (@GSunDarrenReese) August 8, 2016

Another photo of the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair, where three riders fell 40-50 feet this evening. pic.twitter.com/zkpS0AhFGA

— Darren Reese (@GSunDarrenReese) August 8, 2016

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will not assist police with the investigation.

Captain Tim Davis said a third-party inspector will determine “whether there was a mechanical issue” with the ride.

The Green County Fair announced on their Facebook page that all rides will be shut down “until further notice.”

LIVE on #Periscope: LIVE: Press conference regarding last night's ferris wheel accident at the Greene County Fair @… https://t.co/RG1XLkytv6

— Darren Reese (@GSunDarrenReese) August 9, 2016

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said last week there had been four amusement device accidents in the state since July 1, WATE.com reported.

The news comes after 10-year-old Caleb Thomas Schwab died after riding the world’s tallest water slide, the 17-storey Verruckt, in Kansas over the weekend.

Witnesses said Caleb was “decapitated” after being flung from the ride.

Fair officials, including Fair Board President Bobby Holt, centre, talk to witnesses. Picture: O.J. Early/The Greeneville Sun via AP