Fairgoers stunned by report of tragedy

Katherine Stuckey tried nearly all the big amusement park rides at the Ohio State Fair on its opening day Wednesday — including the Fire Ball.

She said she’d had no inkling that anything was wrong.

Hours later, the Fire Ball ride broke apart. One person died and seven people were injured, three critically. Stuckey couldn’t help but worry about what could have happened.

“If it had been at a slightly different time ...,” she said, her voice trailing off.

Stuckey, 28, of Grove City, was one of many visitors to the state fair who were shaken by Wednesday night’s events.

Michelle Carter, 35, of Heath, was at the fair with two children who rode the Fire Ball. She said her stomach dropped when she saw video of the accident that had been circulating on social media. She said her thoughts went out to the victims’ parents.

Susie and Mike Buchanan of Plain City, who have gone to the fair for years, were extremely saddened when they learned what had happened while they were elsewhere at the fair.

“I feel really sorry for the people involved,” Mrs. Buchanan, 69, said. “This is a real tragedy.”

Tammy and Jeff Scott of Delaware, who entered the fairgrounds through the 11th Avenue gate, where the Fire Ball was located, said people at the fair were watching video of the accident on social media within an hour or so of the incident.

“I couldn’t imagine if that was one of my kids,” she said of the video’s rapid circulation.

Another fairgoer said she was upset by some fairgoers who complained when they were told the rides were being shut down for the night and refunds were being issued. “Some of these people need to get their priorities straight,” she said, declining to give her name.