Deputies say two 13-year-olds were warned not to grab each other on a Georgia fair swing ride. Then the swings collided, and a woman left by ambulance
A night at the Columbia County Fall Fair in Grovetown, Georgia, ended with a woman leaving in an ambulance after a swing ride sent its seats crashing into one another. Two 13-year-olds now face charges, as deputies said they believe the pair intentionally caused the swing ride to go out of control, according to WRDW.
A Columbia County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the teens had been warned not to grab each other while the ride was in motion. Deputies said the pair were also told not to twist their swing seats together but did so anyway. Both were charged with being unruly and released to their parents with paperwork describing the charges.
Two children were treated for minor injuries in addition to the injured woman. Kristen Murphy, a mother whose children were on the swing ride, filmed two riders in separate swings appearing to hold on to each other. The ride seems to become unstable as it slows, and Murphy said the chairs violently hit the ride and other passengers. She said other parents rushed to the control panel to help her husband stop it.
The mom who filmed it says the teens are not the whole story
Murphy said she only noticed what she called some pretty severe injuries once the ride stopped and she reached her children. She claimed she saw little urgency from law enforcement or EMS at the scene. According to Murphy, no one from the Merchants Association of Columbia County, which operates the fair, took a statement from her family.
The sheriff’s office has not publicly said whether the ride itself played any role. However, Murphy has since questioned whether the teens alone were to blame. In a follow-up Facebook post, she claimed the footage seems to show an abnormal deceleration that sent chairs colliding around the ride.
Murphy argued that two young passengers should not be able to throw off a ride so easily. “If two lightweight riders can compromise the safety of dozens of innocent children on board, that ride is fundamentally unsafe,” Murphy wrote.
Georgia’s ride rules actually put some of the burden on riders
Amusement rides in Georgia fall under the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire. Under its rider responsibility rule, patrons must obey ride attendants and avoid any action that may cause or contribute to injury to themselves or others. Violators can be removed for the day or face a civil penalty of up to $100.
Owners also have duties, and state law lets an owner or operator turn away anyone whose entry may jeopardize their own safety or that of others. However, the rider rule also requires families to report injuries. Injured patrons, or the parents of injured minors, must report the injury in writing to the ride’s owner before leaving the premises.
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