Fair worker airlifted after ride accident
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The victim, a 45-year-old Florida man, was working as one of two operators on the Starship 2000 ride at the time of the accident. He suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He was airlifted from the fair and taken to Erlanger by a LifeForce helicopter which made its landing on a nearby softball field.
According to a Cumberland Valley Shows spokesman, the operator was injured as he was going to assist a child on the ride. The ride, which uses centrifugal force to hold passengers against a wall, was in motion at the time.
Kristen Pedigo, 13-year-old daughter of local residents Patrick and Carol Pedigo, was on the ride when the accident happened.
“There were two workers in there,” Pedigo said. “One was helping people get in their seats. Everything went well until the ride started and he was trying to hold on, and then he slipped on some water on the floor and hit under my feet so hard I heard two cracks.”
The worker then began to ask the other operator to stop the ride, according to Pedigo.
“At first I thought, when he was screaming ‘stop the ride,’ I thought he wanted to try and get back up, but when I saw his face I knew something was horribly wrong,” she said.
Kristen’s father, Patrick, was standing outside the ride.
“It was going like normal and then I heard a really loud crash from inside,” he said. “Then shortly after that, it kind of sounded like a car had slammed on the brakes, so I thought something had happened but I couldn’t tell what. Then finally it got stopped and I could see him lying on the floor.
“I kept thinking where’s Kristen and finally she came out and told me what had happened,” he said. “Children were coming out crying. I’d say it was pretty scary.”
Workers reportedly know how to maneuver around the ride while it is in motion, but the victim apparently lost his footing and that’s when he was sucked against the wall with considerable force. It is not known why he was attempting to reach the child since passengers have virtually no risk of injury because they are held in place by the centrifugal force.
The spokesman, who refused to give the victim’s name, stressed the rides at the fair are very safe and said the incident did not involve a customer. He also noted Cumberland Valley Shows has a great safety record, especially considering the volume of people who visit the fair.
The ride was shut down for a little more than an hour while the victim received medical attention and a brief investigation was conducted. The ride re-opened around 9 p.m.