All three girls remained hospitalized, two of whom were alert and conscious, he said Tuesday.
Advertisement
Greeneville Police Capt. Tim Davis said at a news conference late Tuesday that reports indicate a mechanical issue caused the vehicle to dump three children from the gondola-style wheel at the fair.
Investigators haven’t yet determined how a Ferris wheel seat flipped over at a Tennessee county fair and sent three children plummeting 30 to 45 feet to the ground.
Along with inspectors contacted by Family Attractions and the Greene County fair operators, a federal inspector was expected to arrive Wednesday, Davis said. She wrote that Briley has seemed to respond to relatives’ voices and the family is taking it “one minute at a time”.
Two of the girls, ages 6 and 10, are sisters, while the third girl is 16, said Dr. Bracken Burns, director of trauma services at the Johnson City, Tenn., Medical Center, where the girls were taken for treatment.
Reynolds confirmed the information posted on Facebook to The Associated Press.
According to police, eyewitnesses have not been able to confirm reports that the seat of the basket was rocking before it overturned.
Meanwhile, it’s still up to the state to decide the fate of the rest of the rides at the fair.
A spokesperson for the Niswonger Children’s Hospital said the 6-year-old is still in critical condition.
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.
State authorities chose to stop doing inspections on rides altogether after a 2014 audit found that mistakes in record-keeping and a lack of inspectors created “serious concerns about whether the unit is able to ensure that all amusement devices in the state are appropriately permitted and inspected both annually and following accidents and fatalities”. They are expected to be open Wednesday, with the exception of the Ferris wheel, which will be returned to the manufacturer for inspection.
Advertisement
An accident report turned in to Tennessee authorities lists Family Attractions of Valdosta as the owner of the ride and names Ruby and Dominic Macaroni as the company’s owners.
