NC State Fair ride stops due to low voltage, leaving riders dangling 100 feet in the air
By Heidi Kirk
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RALEIGH, North Carolina (WRAL) — Some fairgoers were left dangling 100 feet in the air when a ride at the North Carolina State Fair stopped due to a low-voltage issue.
The ride, which is known as The Vertigo, spins riders on swings high above the fairgrounds. Video shared with WRAL News shows the ride stopped on Thursday afternoon.
“All I could think is…’we’re going to drop,'” said Hannah Norris.
Norris said she has been coming to the fair for as long as she could remember, and the rides have always been her favorite part. After riding the Vertigo on opening day, she’s changed her tune.
“I just started praying. Me and Liam, that’s my son, we just start saying a prayer,” she continued.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture spokesperson Heather Overton said the ride stopped automatically due to a low voltage fault that triggered the safety procedure stopping the ride. It is a safety system she said that performed “exactly as intended.”
“The ride came to a controlled stop, allowing for the safe and timely manual evacuation of all patrons. At no point was anyone at risk.”
Officials said the riders were lowered to the ground within 45 minutes. The ride was reset and approved to start again immediately, Overton said.
While not at risk, Norris told WRAL News it was a scary experience and is something she’ll never forget.
A spokesperson with the company that owns the ride said anyone who was stuck, can contact them for a complimentary ride.
Inspectors with the North Carolina Department of Labor checked nearly 100 rides at the fair before it opened on Thursday.
North Carolina state law requires portable rides, like those used at the fair, to undergo inspection at each new location.
Five people were seriously injured Oct. 24, 2013, at the North Carolina State Fair, when The Vortex – a ride known for its wild twirls and flips – started moving while people were getting off and dropped some unsecured passengers 20 feet onto the ride’s metal floor.
A criminal investigation found that a safety mechanism designed to keep the ride from moving had been disabled. The ride’s operator, Timothy Dwayne Tutterrow, and owner, Joshua Macaroni, were later arrested in the case.
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