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State Officials Work to Reassure Visitors About Safety
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – State officials are working to reassure visitors the 2018 Ohio State Fair will be safe after a catastrophic ride failure left an 18-year-old dead and seven others injured last year.
Yet the Columbus Dispatch reports little has changed since last year. Amusements of America is still the ride vendor and Ohio still employs eight inspectors for 3,700 rides statewide.
A spokesman says Ohio Gov. John Kasich has urged the Ohio Department of Agriculture to improve safety, but a tougher inspection law requiring changes has languished.
“Tyler’s Law” is named for Tyler Jarrell, who died July 26, 2017, when the Fire Ball ride broke apart, flinging a four-passenger carriage into the air.
The Agriculture Department says inspectors will do more this year, including daily spot-checks and supplemental inspections.