Posted: Friday, 16 May 2008 10:10PM
Carnival Ride Collapses in Calaveras County
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ANGELS CAMP, Calif. (AP) -- Three people attending the annual fair celebrating the popular Calaveras County jumping frog contest were seriously injured Friday during the collapse of a carnival ride.
Another 14 riders also were hurt, but their injuries were considered minor. The three most seriously injured riders were airlifted to area hospitals.
Authorities said they were injured when a type of swing ride collapsed shortly after 6 p.m. Friday. The ride has arms that fling out as they spin around an axis.
He said he did not know what might have caused the collapse or specifically how the riders were hurt.
The ride remained upright after the accident but some of the seats appeared knocked over, as if the arms had collapsed on the ride's center pole.
Laurie Giannini, the fairground's marketing director, said the fair remained open Friday night but the carnival area was shut down following the accident. She said there were no fatalities and that the riders who received minor injuries had been treated.
No information was available about the extent of the injuries to those most seriously hurt or where they were sent.
The Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee opened Wednesday and is held each year in late May. It was inspired by a Mark Twain story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which focuses on a character and his jumping frog, named Dan'l Webster.
The fictional frog-jumping contest is rigged in one gambler's favor when he secretly fills his opponent's frog with buckshot.
The Calaveras County fairgrounds is located just outside the Gold Rush-era town of Angels Camp in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
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(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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