Ferris wheel company had troubled history before fair spill
Source: Associated Press
Ferris wheel company had troubled history before fair spill
Erik Schelzig and Claire Galofaro, Associated Press
Updated 7:06 pm, Wednesday, August 10, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The organizers of the eastern Tennessee fair where three girls fell from a Ferris wheel kept their ride operator despite an incident across the state line that injured five and caused the owners' son to be jailed.
Private inspectors believe a mechanical failure likely caused the gondola to flip over Monday, sending three girls plummeting 30 to 45 feet to the ground.
A 6-year-old girl, Briley Rae Reynolds, suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fall and her 10-year-old sister, Kayla, broke her arm.
Their mother, Kimmee Reynolds, posted a statement Wednesday on Facebook that said both girls remained hospitalized. She wrote that though Briley cannot breathe on her own, she has seemed to respond to relatives' voices and the family, taking it "one minute at a time," remains hopeful.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Private-inspectors-in-charge-of-Tennessee-fair-9133320.php
