Buchanan carnival ride accident results in minor injuries - Roanoke.com

Buchanan carnival ride accident results in minor injuries - Roanoke.com.

An accident involving a ride at a Buchanan carnival Monday night was caused when a bracket holding up a car broke and allowed the car to plummet 15 to 20 feet with three teenagers on board. The ride, called the Octopus, had been inspected and approved for use. The inspector, Neil Holland, today said the place where the break occurred would not have been visible during an inspection unless the ride had been dismantled. “I’ve never heard of one breaking like this,” he said. “You can tell it’s from wear.” It was a clean break with no sign of rust that would indicate the metal had previously cracked, Holland said. The ride will remain closed for the duration of the fair. “You don’t ever know,” said Randy “Red” Roach, owner of Magic Midway, the Georgia company that owns the rides. “It’s our first accident here in 30 years.” One of the three teenagers involved in the accident, 14-year-old Dustin Young of Buchanan, was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, including a bump to the head and numerous bruises on his body and arms. He was treated and released Monday night. “It was the best ride,” Young said today. His mother, who hadn’t been with him at the carnival Monday night, brought him back to the site today. “It’s kind of like wrecking a car,” Cynthia Blankenship said. “You’ve got to go back and look.”