The Delta Fair is held each summer at the Memphis AgriCenter.
MEMPHIS, Sept. 3 (UPI) — Fourteen people were sent to the hospital after an incident on a carnival ride at the Delta Fair, according to police.
Conflicting accounts of the incident were reported.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said the individuals were thrown from the ride Saturday afternoon, according to multiple media reports.
The fair’s management disputed that account, saying safety bars were inadvertently released as the ride, the Moonraker, was coming to a stop.
The fair owner said on Facebook no one was thrown from the ride and no one was injured, but patrons asked to be taken to area hospitals for “precautionary reasons” after being evaluated by EMS personnel at the scene.
Fair operators called the sheriff’s report “grossly inaccurate.”
“We did have a ride, the Moonraker, that had the lap bar released early as the ride was slowing to an end. The release of the lap bar did cause some riders to become nervous and scared. None of the riders were injured and all walked away safely. As a precautionary measure we had the riders checked out by our on-site EMS services and then had the riders at their request sent to the Hospital for strictly precautionary reasons,” the fair said on its Facebook page.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirmed all the individuals taken to area hospitals were in stable condition.
