A mother watched in horror as her two children were left dangling upside down on a malfunctioning carnival ride at the Arkansas State Fair for 15 minutes. Ally Metzger, the mother of two, recorded the terrifying incident as her eight-year-old and 11-year-old children were left swinging helplessly on the X Drive Carnival Ride after it suddenly stopped mid-air on Saturday afternoon.
At a glance:
- A carnival ride malfunction left children hanging upside down for 15 minutes at the Arkansas State Fair.
- The mother of two, Ally Metzger, shared her horror as her 11-year-old daughter appeared to have passed out during the ordeal.
- Despite manual efforts to fix the ride, the children were eventually brought down, but the incident has left Metzger and her family shaken.
According to Metzger, the ride stopped abruptly, leaving the riders, including her children, suspended high in the air. Despite the fair staff’s attempts to manually move the ride, it kept resetting, raising the children back to the top each time. Metzger described the heart-stopping moment when her 11-year-old daughter appeared to have lost consciousness, her eyes closed, and her body unresponsive.
“I couldn’t see her. Her eyes were closed. She told me when she came home that she only remembered crying, and then just got dizzy. Her legs were hurting because the circulation was cut off,” Metzger recounted in an interview with KATV.
https://x.com/KATVNews/status/1846932308168769617
Though the staff eventually managed to lower the children and other riders safely, Metzger expressed her anger and disappointment, later filing a complaint with the fair. In a Facebook post, she voiced her frustration, noting that despite the severity of the situation, one of the workers told her to “calm down” because “it had only been 4 ½ minutes.”
Metzger added that the experience left her family deeply shaken and caused them to change their plans for the rest of the weekend. She received a full refund for their tickets but said the emotional toll was significant.
Scooter Korek, a spokesperson for North American Midway Entertainment, the company responsible for the ride, explained that the malfunction occurred after the ride’s computer system detected a fault. “The ride was in the air, not in its landing position, for about 10-12 minutes,” Korek said, adding that the evacuation was carried out according to safety procedures.
Despite the incident, Korek defended the safety of the rides, assuring that each attraction undergoes multiple inspections and that safety protocols are in place for emergencies. However, Metzger and other parents are left questioning the safety of carnival rides, particularly when their loved ones are involved.
This isn’t the first time a ride malfunction has led to a dangerous situation. Earlier this year, a mother in San Diego experienced a similar scare when her 10-year-old daughter’s safety belt came loose on a high-speed roller coaster at SeaWorld.
As incidents like these continue to make headlines, the importance of rigorous safety inspections and swift emergency response procedures remains a key concern for families attending fairs and amusement parks.