ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Alexander City police are investigating the death of a carnival worker after he died falling from a ride he was trying to fix.
The call came into police around 5:15 Wednesday evening. Police say the worker was a vendor of the “ring of fire” ride. He climbed up on the ride to correct an issue he observed.
The worker was advised to come down by the ride operator. That’s when the worker fell approximately 30 feet. The worker was transported to Russell Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The incident is still under investigation, and authorities will not release the name of the victim until family is notified.
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TRAGEDY AT THE FAIR: Worker dies in fall at fair Wednesday
By Mitch Sneed
Published 6:38 pm Wednesday, April 25, 2018
An amusement company employee died Wednesday after falling off the Ring of Fire at the Kiwanis Fair at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex, according to Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox.
The name of the male victim had not been released as of 7 p.m. The accident occurred just before 5 p.m., just as the fair was preparing to open for the evening.
“A male ride operator from Belarus was operating a ride nearby and the operator of the Ring of Fire said that he thought he saw a wheel that looked funny,” Knox said. “This man said he would check it and climbed up, even though he wasn’t the one who usually did that. When the man who normally handles the maintenance came – he said for him to get down and he would check. When he started down, he lost his grip and fell to the ground.”
Scanner reports said that the victim was bleeding heavily as a result of the fall, but the investigation remained active and while Knox didn’t speculate on the cause of death, he said the man obviously suffered head trauma.
Knox said the 45-year old man, who had been in the business for “20 years or more,” was pronounced dead at the Russell Medical.
Because of the distance between the man and his family, a name was not released until notification of his next of kin could be made.
There were already people on the grounds and the accident was witnessed by several people. Witnesses said that screams could be heard and children were crying and being comforted by their parents.
The ride remained shut down, but the rest of the attractions were open Wednesday evening and the midway was crowded with fairgoers.
More details will be released as they become available.