Woman hospitalized after fall from drop tower at county fair in Virginia

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

Doctors are treating a woman who was injured Monday night at the Frederick County Fairgrounds in Virginia when the cables on a ride snapped, officials said. While the ride was going down, the single seat the woman was secured in detached from the main frame of the ride and hit the ground, officials said.

More pictures and aerial video here.

I was there when this happened last night. As expected, there is a lot of misinformation floating around. A seat does not separate from the ride carriage because a cable snaps. When her seat dislodged, she did crash through the floor of the ride. No new word on her condition today, but once extricated from under the ride trailer she was obviously transported to the local hospital.

This is a portable Larson Super Shot, so it does not 'shoot it's passengers up and down'. Most of my family has ridden this particular unit in the past, but fortunately opted for other activities last night. The ride is owned and operated by Inners Shows of NC. The ride had been inspected by local authorities before running yesterday, the opening day of the fair, and the seat failed just over an hour after the rides opened. Crowds were light because of the weather, so this poor woman may have been the first rider in that seat. Rumors abound, but a lot of details likely won't be released during the investigation. It is interesting the see in the aerial footage that the failed seat is still laying in the same spot today that they had moved it to last night.

This news article is pay-walled, but a couple photos taken immediately after the accident available for viewing without subscribing: http://www.winchesterstar.com/article/0726carnival

This was a tragic start to a small county fair. Sympathy and prayers for everyone involved.

Last edited by Mister Halo,

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