Ohio State Fair's Fire Ball tragedy survivor gets multimillion-dollar judgment
A survivor of the Fire Ball ride tragedy at the 2017 Ohio State Fair that killed one Ohioan and resulted in serious injures to several others has been awarded a multimillion-dollar judgment against the ride manufacturer.
A New Jersey court returned a judgment on Friday in favor of rider Keziah Lewis and against KMG, the Fire Ball's manufacturer. The court awarded Lewis $20 million, with $10 million designated as punitive damages, according to Cooper Elliott, the law firm that represented her.
Lewis was the girlfriend of Tyler Jarrell, who died when the Ohio State Fair attraction failed mid-ride nearly seven years ago on July 26, 2017.
Jarrell, 18 of Columbus, was killed at about 7:20 p.m. on July 26, 2017, when the amusement ride broke apart. Jarrell was thrown high into the air and landed on the ground about 50 feet from the ride before he died at the scene, The Dispatch reported at the time.
Read More: Manufacturer hit with lawsuit over Fire Ball
Video from the disaster also showed Keziah being thrown nearly 50 feet through the air, colliding with another gondola on the ride before crashing to the concrete below.
Keziah’s injuries were extensive and led to more than $2 million in medical bills by December 2017, according to her law firm. Her physical and psychological injuries include a lifelong neurologic deficit in her right foot which requires ongoing physical and cognitive rehabilitation, her attorneys said in a news release.
The New Jersey court found that KMG was aware of the defect in the ride as early as 2012 and failed to alert ride owners nationwide, according to Cooper Elliott.
In total, courts have awarded $78 million to four injured parties, including Keziah and the estate of Jarrell, according to the law firm's release. Despite the judgment, the Fire Ball ride and other KMG rides may still be in operation under various names at fairs across the country, according to the court ruling.
After the accident KMG called on operators to shut down all versions of the ride until it could investigate the fatal incident. Even before the company issued the statement, ride owners and government agencies across North America voluntarily shut the rides down.
In 2017, KMG told the Associated Press the ride in the Ohio State Fair accident was built in the Netherlands in 1998 and is one of 48. Eleven of the rides were in the United States at the time.
@MaxFilby
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Fair attendee thrown from Fire Ball ride awarded millions
