A swing ride at Beech Bend Amusement Park toppled over Saturday evening resulting in injuries to multiple people, none of whom is critical.
The Warren County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the park at 6:18 p.m. along with The Medical Center Emergency Medical Services ambulances to evaluate the injured.
Eight people were taken by ambulance to the ER at The Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Glenda Chu said. The emergency room Saturday was preparing to receive up to 10 more patients who were expected to arrive in private vehicles.
"We responded with EMS, fire and emergency management to Beech Bend Park for the swing ride ... ," sheriff's office spokesman Stephen Harmon said.
Deputy Lydell Hopkins said the ride, called the Jitterbug, "turned over."
Warren County Rescue Department Interim Chief Vince Willingham was enjoying a day at the amusement park with his wife and 3-year-old child when the incident occurred.
"I heard a bunch of crashing," Willingham said. "I didn't see anything until it had stopped.
"The whole swing was toppled on its side," he said. "When I got there, there were still three people in their seats that couldn't get out.
"It just looked like it had fallen on its side," Willingham said.
By the time he got to the ride, several park employees and lifeguards were helping the injured, he said.
Willingham and several others worked to free the trapped riders from their seats. The freed all appeared to Willingham to have contusions, but no severe injuries.
"The people on the ride were shaken up," Willingham said. "Several of them had family members who were upset because they didn't know how bad the injuries were.
"Everybody was alert and responsive," Willingham said about the people injured.
The sheriff's office provided crowd control so emergency medical providers could get to the injured.
"For as many people as there were on the scene, it was pretty well controlled," Willingham said.
The sheriff's office is not responsible for investigating the incident, Hopkins said. A park employee told him the state agency that oversees amusement park rides was notified.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture Division of Regulation and Inspection is responsible for the inspection of amusement park rides to ensure the safety of the equipment, according to the department's website. No one with that office could be reached Saturday night.
A park employee said a supervisor would call the Daily News sometime Saturday night.
— Follow Assistant City Editor Deborah Highland on Twitter at twitter.com/BGDNCrimebeat or visit bgdailynews.com.
(7) comments
First Off I would like to THANK ALL of the people that came to our rescue. That includes, the other guests, the lifeguards, and all of the Ems and firefighters that were on the scene. You all did an amazing, amazing job. Second of all i'm a bit irritated with all of these posts saying know one was seriously injured. Broken arms, legs, BACKS, and I believe I heard a jaw was broken, these to me are all of these are serious injuries!!! Plus these poor innocent children that were on this ride will be traumatized for life. They may even need to seek emotional help! This all to me again is VERY SERIOUS!!! This could have turned out much worse for all of us. That is all I will say FOR NOW but you'll be hearing from me again. Thanks again y'all that helped. I owe you!!
Well, now we will see the opportunists come out of the woodwork with lawsuits. Lawyers and the lazy about to cash in. Pitiful.
I'm sure if your child was on this swing, you would be the first in line! However I had to rescue my girlfriend and her daughter out of midair after they crashed against the tower! Negligence is definitely the factor due to the ride not being counterbalanced.....so until you are facing life threatening situation, try not to rush to being a keyboard warrior please. ...ty
Oh please, how is it "definitely negligence?" Could have been a simple mistake, spontaneous accident, someone forgot something, ANYTHING. Any time someone in America gets the chance, they jump for the free cash. Come on now, even Red Bull got sued for not actually giving a woman wings after she drank it... LMFAO! I've faced at minimal 5 life threatening situations against myself, and few for others. American Logic = Lawsuit.
A mistake and someone forgetting something are examples of negligence. A ride isn't supposed to fall over.
This was clearly negligence like shevyshon78 said, I was there and YOU will see!!
You make me sick!! If you or your child was on this ride and either were seriously injured i'm 100% positive that you'd be right there to collect for the amount of medical bills we are about to incur.I'm far far from lazy and have a damn good job that i am unable to be at right now. So before you go popping off at your keyboard you should think about what you're saying first!
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