Marina and the Diamonds

I-Team: Troubled Fairs Headed to Georgia

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• published: 16 Sep 2016
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by Dana Fowle Aired Sept. 14, 2016 CEDARTOWN, Ga. - It's fair season here in metro Atlanta. The carnival tours are headed back from northern locations and sweeping through Georgia. But for too many this season, it's been a bumpy ride. Home video caught a children's rollercoaster tipping off its tracks. Twenty Bartow County fair-goers hold it up so that children can escape safely. Sherry Carbajo, a bystander, recalled what she saw and heard. "I hear a big old, loud metal noise. All you could hear is people, 'Get over there. Hold it up.'" State investigators tell the FOX 5 I-Team they cited Carol Stream Amusements for an improper welding issue. Then a deeper inspection had them "red tagging" or temporarily shutting down a total of five rides. Last month, in Tennessee, the FOX 5 I-Team reported that three girls were injured when they fell as far as 45 feet from a Ferris wheel operated by Family Attractions Amusement. The mother of the most badly injured child tells me she is back in school part-time with the aid of a nurse. That same south Georgia-based carnival company is wending its way home, but stopping first in Cedartown through the weekend. Inspectors at Georgia's Office of Insurance and Fire Safety were on site meticulously going over each ride. The traveling carnival had passed its most recent annual inspection. "It's not just this particular carnival, but carnivals in general, because it's been so many instances throughout the United States, not just here in the South, that we're doing some spot checking, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Chris Stephens. Last week, eight people were taken to the hospital in Memphis after the Moonraker ride operated by Amusements of America released its lap belts too soon. No one was seriously injured, but that carnival company has now pulled into Gwinnett Fairgrounds through the 25th. It's also about to be re-inspected. "They've been out for a while and we felt that there was a need. It's a huge fair certainly, so we felt to re-look and revisit some re-inspection on their equipment," the deputy marshal said. The metro area's fair schedule is listed below with the name of the companies providing rides. Use this link to see the state's latest inspection reports: http://egov.oci.ga.gov/prodverification/Search.aspx?facility=Y September Through October Metro Carnival Events Gwinnett County Fair 9/15 to 9/25 Amusements of America Primetime Amusements D & J Amusements Playtime Amusements Polk County Fair 9/13 to 9 /17 Family Attractions Hilary Geren Madison GA Lions Club Fair 9/20 to 9/24 Family Attractions Hilary Geren Coosa Valley Fair - Rome GA 10/4 to 10/ 8 W. G Wade Shows Tyrone Founders Day Festival 10/5 to 10/9 Forever Young North Georgia State Fair - Marietta - 9/22 to 10/2 Drew Expositions Coweta County Fair - Newnan - 9/16 to 9/25 Paradise Amusements Georgia National Fair - Perry - 10/6 to 10/16 Reithoffer Shows Cumming Country Fair & Festival - Cumming - 10/6 to 10/16 Drew Exposition