Waching daily Jul 27 2017

One Dead, Several Hurt in Ohio State Fair Ride Accident

One person was killed and several others were seriously hurt after a ride malfunction at

the Ohio State Fair in Columbus Wednesday, officials said.

The Columbus Division of Fire said five people were in critical condition in the accident

at the Fire Ball ride, NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus reported.

The Columbus fire department said medics were dispatched to the fair at around 7:19 p.m.

The fair opened on Wednesday.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a statement confirmed that there was a death involved and said he

has ordered a full investigation and ordered all rides closed until additional safety inspections

can be conducted.

A video of the incident posted on YouTube showed seats of the ride breaking off and

bodies flying through the air.

A witness told NBC News that "the whole car went flying off and over the side while

in motion."

"I am terribly saddened by this accident, by the loss of life and that people were injured

enjoying Ohio's fair," Kasich said.

Battalion Chief Steve Martin told WCMH that two people who were injured were in stable

condition.

The station reported that one of those injured is a 13-year-old girl.

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Dr. David Evans told reporters that they reviewed

video of the accident "that demonstrated that multiple passengers were ejected at high speed

with high energy many feet — at least 20 or 30, if not more — into the air and then

crashed at a significant distance from the ride."

OSU Wexner Medical Center has received three patients, a hospital spokesperson said.

All three will likely be hospitalized for at least a week, Evans said.

OhioHealth Grant Medical Center said it received three patients, one of whom was in critical

condition, a spokesman said.

The other two are in fair condition.

The fair, which is scheduled to run through Aug. 6, attracts hundreds of thousands of

people every year.

More than 921,000 people attended in 2016, according to fair organizers.

"It's such a fun fair.

This is just a real tragedy," fair-goer Susie Buchanan, who did not witness the accident,

told WCMH.

"You know, you come over here you think you're going to have a lot of fun and then you end

up with something like this.

This is just really a shame for those families," she said.