Ride Malfunction at NC State Fair Sends Five People to the Hospital

iStock/Thinkstock(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Three people are in good to critical condition after a ride at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh started to move as riders were exiting, according to authorities.

The first call to 911 was made around 9:17 p.m. Thursday after a ride called the “Vortex” began to start up again as people were trying to exit, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said at a news conference Thursday night, citing preliminary information.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing passengers thrown off the ride while others were holding on.

“There were actually some people that were still, I think, strapped in and holding on, really hanging on for their lives.  But they were falling like raindrops.  It was really crazy,” Max Byrn, 13, told ABC News Radio.

The Vortex is a pendulum ride that flips passengers upside down as it heads toward the sky.

Ambulances initially rushed five victims, ranging in ages from 14 to 39, to a nearby hospital, Debbie Laughery, vice president for public relations at WakeMed Health and Hospitals, told ABC News.

Two of the injured were released overnight, Laughery said.

Harrison said some of the victims were from the same family, but wasn’t sure of the exact relationship.  The other injured person was the ride’s operator, according to Harrison. 

No information was given on the types of injuries sustained.

Fair officials and Department of Labor officials are working to determine the cause of the accident, fair spokesman Brian Long said in a news release.

The accident occurred shortly before the fair was shutting down for the night. 

Bryn said he had just gotten off the ride and turned around when he heard screaming.  The teen said the ride was upside down when people began falling.

“People were screaming and a lot of people were in pain.  Family members actually ran away, like they couldn’t bear to look at it.  They were dropping about 30 feet high up in the air,” Bryn told ABC News Radio.

Byrn said one person landed head first on the ground and “was completely knocked unconscious” from the fall.

“We could see at least three people just laying there non-responsive,” eyewitness Caleb Norris said.

Police questioned 35 to 40 people at the scene, authorities said.

Harrison said everyone is working hard to make sure all the rides at the fair are safe.

“As sad as it is, we want people to come out and have fun.  It’ll be safe.  We’ll do everything we can to make it safe for the families that come and the main thing is to keep those that got hurt tonight in our prayers,” he said.

The North Carolina Labor Department told ABC News the Vortex is supposed to be inspected for safety three times during the annual fair.

“They will be looking at the diagnostics, all the safety systems and any piece of that ride to determine if it was indeed a malfunction of the ride,” labor department spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry said.

The fair is expected to reopen on Friday as scheduled, according to State Fair spokesman Brian Long.  The fair is scheduled to end Sunday, according to its website.

“The ride was manufactured by Technical Park International of Italy.  This is the first time this Vortex ride has been at the N.C. State Fair,” according to the release.  “There are two Vortex rides on the fairgrounds.  The other Vortex, located on the new midway, has been on site for many years and is manufactured by Fabbri of Italy.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio