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Investigators will do 'an autopsy' of ride that killed man at Ohio State Fair

Authorities release names of victims
Report: 1 dead, 6 injured at Ohio State Fair
Posted at 8:08 PM, Jul 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-27 12:30:56-04

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Authorities have identified the people hurt and the man killed on the Fire Ball ride at the Ohio State Fair Wednesday night.

Authorities said 18-year-old Tyler Jarrell of Columbus died when a piece of the swinging and spinning ride snapped during the fair's opening night.

Also injured were Tamika Dunlap, 36, of Reynoldsburg; Russell Franks, 42, of Columbus; Keziah Lewis, 19, of Columbus; Jacob Andrews, 22, of Pataskala; Jennifer Lambert, 18, of Columbus; Abdihakim Hussein, 19, of Columbus; and a 14-year-old male victim whose name will not be released.

RELATED: Witness: I watched man die on fair ride

State officials said the Fire Ball ride had been inspected earlier in the day before it "malfunctioned" at 7:24 p.m. A video posted online showed part of the ride breaking off mid-swing and throwing riders through the air.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Col. Paul Pride from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the investigation will include "basically an autopsy" of the ride that killed Jarrett and wounded seven other people.

Dr. David Evans of OSU Medical Center, which received three patients from the incident, said "multiple passengers were ejected at high speed" from the ride, traveled at least 20-30 feet and then "crashed at a significant distance from the ride."

RELATED: Video shows moment ride broke at Ohio State Fair

Three were still listed in critical condition late Wednesday night. Others were in stable condition. Evans said the three patients at OSU Medical Center would likely remain hospitalized for a week.

Gov. John Kasich joined state ride inspectors to give an update on the incident Wednesday night.

"The fair is about the best things in life, and then tonight with this accident, it becomes a terrible, terrible tragedy," he said.

Kasich ordered all rides at the fair be shut down pending inspections.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol was investigating the incident. Ride inspectors with the Ohio Department of Agriculture were also working to inspect all the rides again, department Director David Daniels said.

All "amusement rides" in Ohio must be inspected and licensed by the state Department of Agriculture by law. The state issues annual permits to ride owners after successful inspections. 

Daniels said rides are inspected repeatedly before they're put up and during operation. 

"We do not rush inspections," he said.

An Ohio Department of Agriculture "standard inspection" form dated Wednesday showed that inspectors had not found any problems with Fire Ball earlier in the day. Officials issued a state permit for the ride to operator Amusements of America the same day. 

Wednesday was the fair's opening day. It runs through Aug. 6.

Eleven rides did not open at the beginning of the fair because their inspections weren't done, Daniels said. Another four rides were not running because they did not pass mechanical tests.

The Fire Ball dates back to 2002, according to ride operator Amusements of America's website. It "swings riders 40' above the midway while spinning them at 13 revolutions per minute," the website states.

The Fire Ball ride at the California State Fair will not run until "they tell us what happened in Ohio...and what went wrong," officials told ABC.

The California ride isn't identical to Ohio's ride, but it's manufactured by the same company.

Read the state inspection report for Fire Ball below: 

Fire Ball inspection by WCPO Web Team on Scribd