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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 21 Juli 2021
After horrific fair ride accident, Ohio beefs up inspections

(AP) - Four years after a reached with the ride’s own- gia, Florida or Kentucky, my
carnival ride’s corroded er and two private inspection equipment’s fine,” he said.
steel arm snapped and companies while another
flung a high school stu- lawsuit against the manufac- His decision left organizers
dent to his death at the turer is still in court. of the Tusky Days festival
Ohio State Fair, the state in Tuscarawas scrambling to
is tightening its oversight While the state has long had find another ride company.
of amusement rides. one of the nation’s more All they could come up with
robust ride inspection pro- were a few inflatable bounce
Inspectors are conducting grams — nine states don’t houses and one kiddie ride.
more mandatory checks for require any government
rust and metal fatigue and scrutiny — Ohio lawmakers “We were doing damage con-
increasingly flagging rides for spent more than a year craft- trol all weekend,” said festi-
repairs during the first year of ing a plan to increase over- val chairman Matt Ritenour.
enforcement under the new sight. Called “Tyler’s Law,” “Having a festival without
regulations. it requires more mandatory rides is like having a beer gar-
inspections for big attractions den without beer. You just
Some carnival operators say and makes owners maintain required to make visual in- thickness. can’t have it.”
inspectors are overreaching repair and travel records. spections before going out on “By the time we see exter-
and shutting rides over issues “We will have a history that the road, many are making nal rust, it’s too late,” said In neighboring Denison,
that aren’t immediate safety comes with each ride, wheth- needed modifications before the owner of Bates Brothers only six of 11 rides were ap-
concerns. A few have pulled er it be a kiddie ride or a roller inspectors arrive, Miran said. Amusement Co. proved to operate during its
out of Ohio’s festival circuit coaster,” said Dorothy Pelan- four-day festival in June be-
or are considering it because da, director of Ohio’s Agri- Ride owners say they’re all This year, five of his 18 car- cause inspectors had “zero
of what they say is uncertain- culture Department, which for safety and don’t mind nival rides weren’t allowed tolerance for rust,” said Greg
ty over how the rules are be- oversees ride inspections. added scrutiny, but some to start at the beginning of DiDonato, the town’s mayor.
ing enforced. rides have been shut down the season. A kiddie coaster
The head of the state’s for things they think don’t had to be disassembled and “I get that there was a trag-
The 2017 accident at Ohio’s amusement ride safety office, compromise safety such as repaired even though it had edy. I get it, we want safety,
showcase fair that killed Tyler David Miran, said the law surface rust on handrails and issues that he didn’t think but this is a huge overreach,”
Jarrell, an 18-year-old Ma- emphasizes checking a ride’s on transport trailers. needed immediate attention. said DiDonato, a former state
rine enlistee, and left four structural components and lawmaker. “I’m for ride safe-
others with life-changing in- that inspectors are told to err Frank Welsh, a member of Amusement operators say ty, everybody is. But this will
juries sent shudders through on the side of caution. the Ohio Advisory Council they especially can’t afford to kill the small ride operators.”
the amusement industry. on Amusement Ride Safety, have their rides grounded for
Carnival owners also must a volunteer board, said some repairs that they don’t believe Small town carnivals and
The maker of the spinning, work with ride manufactur- inspectors are probably being are warranted coming after church festivals are most
swinging Fire Ball ride said ers or a certified engineer a little too picky to protect a year when they were shut likely to lose out because
years of undetected excessive when repairs are needed themselves from being fired down because of the pan- some out-of-state operators
internal corrosion caused a and have them sign off on or disciplined. demic. won’t go through getting li-
carriage holding four riders the work — a process that “I can’t gamble like that,” censed in Ohio and those that
to break apart just hours after is more expensive and keeps “Take an an older car — you said Val Gorham, who runs remain will seek out more
a final inspection. rides out of commission lon- get a little rust on the bumper Cromer United Amuse- profitable, bigger events, said
ger, resulting in lost revenue, and it doesn’t mean the car’s ments from its base in Eaton, Mike Spriggs, president of
Attorneys for the victims their operators say. unsafe,” he said. “It doesn’t Ohio. the Ohio Fairs and Festivals
believe the state’s inspec- mean you need to have an Association.
tors missed obvious warning “It’s out of the ride owners engineer look at it.” Instead of taking his rides to
signs and also blamed the hands in that scenario, and Eric Bates, who has been in 26 fairs and festivals around “If there aren’t changes made
ride’s operator and maker, it’s up to the manufacturer the portable ride business for Ohio this summer, he’s can- to be a little more friendly, I
though no one was charged. who has the deep knowledge five decades, said the new law celed all of those and filled think we’ll continue to see
of what that ride is and what doesn’t address what caused his calendar with events in them go by the wayside,” he
Ohio, like many other states, the ride needs,” said Miran. the Fire Ball accident — in- neighboring states. said about the ride compa-
gives its ride inspectors im- “Having that other set of eye- ternal corrosion that can only nies. “They’re not going to
munity from negligence law- balls is huge.” be spotted by ultrasonic test- “When I go 15 miles to Indi- go through that trouble to get
suits. But settlements were Because ride owners now are ing that measures the steel’s ana or to West Virginia, Geor- licensed in Ohio.”

California synagogue shooting suspect pleads guilty

(AP) — A 22-year-old eral prosecutors faced a dead- that a possible plea arrange-
former nursing student line of Aug. 30 on whether to ment in the federal prosecu-
pleaded guilty Tuesday to pursue the death penalty. His tion would prevent the state’s
murder and other charges next appearance in federal case from moving forward.
in connection with a dead- court is Sept. 30. The U.S. at-
ly shooting at a Southern torney’s office in San Diego “While we reserved the op-
California synagogue on did not immediately respond tion of trying this as a death
the last day of Passover. to a request for comment. penalty case, life in prison
without the possibility of pa-
John T. Earnest avoided the Earnest submitted a con- role for the defendant is an
death penalty with his plea in ditional plea agreement for appropriate resolution to this
San Diego Superior Court. consideration by federal violent hate crime and we
The San Diego County dis- semi-automatic rifle during lost a finger. prosecutors on June 4, the hope it brings a measure of
trict attorney’s office said he the last day of Passover ser- Earnest then called 911 to say San Diego County district at- justice and closure to the vic-
agreed to serve the rest of vices in April 2019 at Chabad he had shot up a synagogue torney’s office said. tims, their families, friends
his life in prison without the of Poway. The attack killed because Jews were trying to and the wider community,”
possibility of parole in state 60-year-old Lori Gilbert- “destroy all white people,” The district attorney said the office said. “This plea en-
prison. Sentencing is sched- Kaye and wounded three authorities said. it consulted the Kaye fam- sures the defendant is held
uled Sept. 30. others, including an 8-year- Earnest faces similar charges ily and other victims before accountable for his crimes
Earnest opened fire with a old girl and the rabbi, who in federal court, where fed- agreeing to the deal, aware under California state law.”