I was asked this morning about what happened on "Vortex" yesterday when a buddy heard about this on the radio in Indy. Knowing it would not have been KI's since the park was not open Thursday, I had to do some digging! Looks like an issue with a state fair ride flat!

RALEIGH, N.C. — Five people were taken to WakeMed hospital in Raleigh Thursday night after an accident involving The Vortex ride on the lower midway at the North Carolina State Fair. Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison told reporters at a news briefing late Thursday night that preliminary information he received indicates at least two people suffered critical injuries. Two people were released from WakeMed early Friday.

About 35 to 40 people, he said, were being interviewed in an effort to get a better idea of what happened. The ride had stopped, and they were fixing to offload when the ride started off again, but that is preliminary," Harrison said. "It is going to take quite a while to talk to all these people."Neither Harrison nor Dolores Quesenberry, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Labor, which inspects the fair rides, would comment about what caused the accident. "It could be operator error. We don't know," Harrison said. "We aren't going to speculate.

http://www.wral.com/5-injured-on-Vortex-ride-at-nc-state-fair/13035196/

It does not look like this fair has the best track record.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/303760/57/Multiple-Injuries-Reported-At-NC-State-Fair-

Thursday night's accident isn't the first involving rides. In 2002, a midway worker was thrown from a platform of a ride when he was struck by the legs of a passenger on the ride. In 1998, three people were injured when a wheel-bearing seized on a roller coaster causing a rear-end collision between three cars.

Why are all these Amusement rides having accident's this year?

Why are all these Amusement Parks having accident's this year?

I do not consider a State Fair an Amusement Park!

I'm glad I didn't go this year (I live in Raleigh)...that looks like something I would have ridden!

I rode the same model as this at the Ohio State Fair. I hope everyone geta better, thats teribble tho.

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Hmm...something is making me think the ride was not locked out/disabled/e-stopped

Sounds an awful lot like operator error to me atm

Critical injuries involved.

Very unfortunate. This was a fantastic ride at the Ohio State Fair.

Ride Operator Charged

3 Counts Assault With A Deadly Weapon

Ride Allegedly Tampered With

http://www.wjactv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/31fa5893-www.wjactv.com.shtml

Frightening Stuff

(A criminal charge is not in itself evidence of guilt)

Plus it said it was a 46 year-old employee - and some folks on here complain it is not safe for Kings Island using teenagers to run rides...just saying - sometimes age is just an age.

Worker Critically Injured At Same State Fair As Another, Different "Vortex" Ride Is Dismantled, More:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21217083-worker-critically-injured-in-accident-on-second-Vortex-ride-at-nc-state-fair

How long before someone attributes these injuries to the blue and yellow roller coaster at the back of Coney Mall?

Blue and yellow you say? I wasn't aware of that combination...

I think it was supposed to be blue and orange, but the orange faded into yellow.

Blue and Gold?

The Mountaineer Coaster?

The confusion with KI's Vortex has begun. I just had to correct someone about that on Facebook.

Imagine the Carowinds confusion. It was a ride in Carolina...actually two!

Ride Owner Charged With Three Felonies:

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/11/ga-ride-owner-charged-nc-state-fair-incident

(Ride Op Charged Earlier)

How is the owner criminally liable? If the operator tampered with the system, then he is the one who should be charged (and he was). I don't understand how the owner can be charged with a crime when the accident was allegedly caused by the operator's tampering.

If the owner instructed the ride op to do as was alleged..,

If the owner failed to properly instruct, monitor or supervise (though this would normally result in a lesser charge)...

But where has someone said that the owner directed the ride op to tamper or that the owner was negligent? I'm not seeing any such allegations.

Press reports are not actual indictments.

Frequently those reporting court actions have little to no understanding of what they are reporting.

Most likely, the ride op was questioned and told investigators that he was instructed to bypass the safety switch by the owner. It's also possible that he reported the situation to the owner and he did nothing about it creating a negligence situation. I'd say we are going to see the first situation be the case when it all comes out, but, as the owner of the ride, there are many scenarios that would end up with them charging him. Convicting will take actual proof he knew though.

I'm glad I didn't go this year (I live in Raleigh)...that looks like something I would have ridden!

I live in Apex...

I'm glad I didn't go this year (I live in Raleigh)...that looks like something I would have ridden!

I live in Apex...

Cool.

Well, technically I'm not in Raleigh, I'm in Garner, near the Johnston County line.

I'm glad I didn't go this year (I live in Raleigh)...that looks like something I would have ridden!

I live in Apex...

Cool.

Well, technically I'm not in Raleigh, I'm in Garner, near the Johnston County line.

It is a small world after all.

I'm glad I didn't go this year (I live in Raleigh)...that looks like something I would have ridden!

I live in Apex...

Cool.

Well, technically I'm not in Raleigh, I'm in Garner, near the Johnston County line.

It is a small world after all.

Yes...it is.