Reynolds said Briley had seizures en route to the hospital and is sedated and on a ventilator, not breathing on her own, “but she is fighting”.
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‘Now it’s a waiting game, ‘ the mom said.
Briley was the most seriously injured, her mother said.
‘They wanna give her more time and as much as I want her alert and dancing and being feisty, ‘ Reynolds added.
The state relies instead on private inspectors hired by ride operators as well as inspections in other states to determine if roller coasters, zip lines and Ferris wheels are safe.
Tim Davis said the three fell 30 to 45 feet on Monday night at the Greene County fair when their seat flipped over.
As if you needed another reason to spend the rest of the summer indoors, three girls in Tennessee fell nearly 45 feet from a broken ferris wheel at a county fair Monday, the Washington Post reports.
Reynolds expressed confidence in the girls’ doctors and the hospital, gratitude for the community’s support, and astonishment at the media attention over the incident.
‘I know she’s in there and I know she hears us, ‘ Reynolds said. The Greeneville Sun reported that the 16-year-old has improved since being hospitalized in critical condition.
Tennessee authorities chose to stop doing inspections altogether after a 2014 audit found shortcomings in the state’s regulatory program for rides at fairs and amusement parks.
Family Attractions Amusement 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.
The Valdosta, Georgia-based company did not return a message left on the voicemail of the phone number listed on its last inspection report.
The Greeneville Sun has reported that Greene County Fair Board officials chose to go through with a five-year contract with a Family Attractions despite the North Carolina incident, citing the company’s previous safety record in Tennessee and the owners’ claims that they were not involved with the Vortex ride.
“They will inspect every ride at the fairgrounds”, he said.
The Greene County incident 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 in Gatlinburg, and in Pigeon Forge, 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.
Meanwhile, it’s still up to the state to decide the fate of the rest of the rides at the fair.
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Tennessee has required companies to hire third party contractors to inspect the amusement rides. Along with facial swelling, she has a fever and possibly a bacterial infection, the mother said.
