Nine people were injured when a ride at the Tennessee State Fair appeared to malfunction.
Video shows the Wave Swinger riders getting close to a fence, some hitting a railing, WKRN reported.
Rider Ava Zotti told WKRN, " At some point, I lifted my legs over the railing. I was like ‘I almost hit that.’"
“Their legs were getting caught in the railing,” she said. “There were people screaming, kids crying. Parents were running on to grab the kids to see if they were okay.”
Jamie Nowak, whose husband and two children were on the ride at the time, said she was thankful her 5-year-old was not in the outer row of swings. Her 10-year-old, however, was in the outer ring in the row of swings that went past the fenceline.
“I was like, ‘What things are on the other side of this that he could potentially run into?’ My biggest worry was a leg getting stuck in one of those — in the fence,” Tim Nowak said.
Luckily, their son was not among those injured
Her husband rode it several times on Aug. 19 before the incident.
Each said the ride seemed different before it malfunctioned.
“It was coming down too fast and it was still spinning too fast,” Jamie Nowak told WTVF.
“This feels a little stranger compared to the other times,” Tim Nowak said.
Officials confirmed the injuries, saying that most were hurt on the legs but were expected to recover.
Four were taken to the hospital and were eventually released while five were treated at the fair’s medical center, WTVF reported.
Reithoffer Shows, which operates the Wave Swinger, said the ride stopped and some riders came into contact with the fence surrounding it as the ride was lowered.
A state inspector examined the Wave Swinger and found no abnormalities, Reithoffer Shows told WKRN.
The ride had recently received a new motor and computer system.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development ordered the fair to stop operating the Wave Swinger while the investigation continues.
“Because this is Tennessee’s largest fair, the Amusement Device Unit has maintained an on-site presence throughout the event to oversee compliance with the state’s amusement device requirements,” the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said, according to WSMV. “Because of this on-site presence, the state was able to respond quickly when this incident occurred.”
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