After horrific fair ride accident, Ohio beefs up inspections

Four years after a carnival ride’s corroded steel arm snapped and flung a high school student to his death at the Ohio State Fair, the state is tightening its oversight of amusement rides.

Inspectors are conducting more mandatory checks for rust and metal fatigue and increasingly flagging rides for repairs during the first year of enforcement under the new regulations.

Some carnival operators say inspectors are overreaching and shutting rides over issues that aren’t immediate safety concerns. A few have pulled out of Ohio’s festival circuit or are considering it because of what they say is uncertainty over how the rules are being enforced.

The 2017 accident at Ohio’s showcase fair that killed Tyler Jarrell, an 18-year-old Marine enlistee, and left four others with life-changing injuries sent shudders through the amusement industry.

The maker of the spinning, swinging Fire Ball ride said years of undetected excessive internal corrosion caused a carriage holding four riders to break apart just hours after a final inspection.

Attorneys for the victims believe the state's inspectors missed obvious warning signs and also blamed the ride's operator and maker, though no one was charged.

Ohio, like many other states, gives its ride inspectors immunity from negligence lawsuits. But settlements were reached with the ride’s owner and two private inspection companies while another lawsuit against the manufacturer is still in court.

While the state has long had one of the nation's more robust ride inspection programs — nine states don’t require any government scrutiny — Ohio lawmakers spent more than a year crafting a plan to increase oversight. Called “Tyler's Law,” it requires more mandatory inspections for big attractions and makes owners maintain repair and travel records.

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