Fair offers safer thrills

Deepa Bharath

Amid the din of high-energy music, vendors selling their wares and

people talking, the shrill screams of people on scary rides pierce

the air.

What’s a carnival without rides? Probably Newport Beach without

the ocean.

The Orange County Fair, in its 112th year, is no exception.

Organizers of the annual event, which is a tradition for many

families in the area and for visitors from out of town, have made it

a point to introduce bigger, better and more thrilling rides every

year.

Rides are an important component of the fair, said Becky

Bailey-Findley, the event’s general manager and chief executive

officer.

“But this year, we’re focusing on rides the whole family can go on

instead of the super-thrilling attractions,” she said. “We do try to

get a whole variety of rides, something new and different. At the

same time, we don’t ignore the traditional favorites.”

The tugboat ride and a smaller version of a roller coaster, on

which parents can accompany their children, are new, family-oriented

rides this year, officials said. Those join older favorites such as

bumper cars.

But other rides are more breathtaking.

Among the new rides this year is the Inverter, a contraption that

has riders spinning parallel and perpendicular to the ground.

Another newcomer is the Spinning Coaster, a roller coaster that

spins. . And the traditional, 15-story-tall Ferris wheel, which

offers breathtaking views of the fairgrounds and the area -- even the

ocean on a clear day -- is back.

Missing from the fairgrounds, however, is the Adrenaline Drop, a

ride on which a 30-year-old, La Canada Flintridge woman was injured

during the fair’s first weekend last year. Aidyl Sofia-Gonzalez left

the hospital on crutches one day after the Adrenaline Drop’s nets

failed to stop her freefall from a trapdoor 110 feet in the air,

untethered by bungee cords or harnesses.

State officials had determined that a net at the bottom, which was

supposed to stop riders from hitting the ground, deployed but didn’t

do its job. Sofia-Gonzalez still hit the ground. Officials said the

ride was in only its second year of operation at the Orange County

Fair.

Hours after that accident, Stacie Tomack, a 23-year-old Northridge

woman on the Booster ride, was struck on the face by a loose pin. .

The Adrenaline Drop still brings back bad memories, which is why

fair officials decided to give it up this year, Bailey-Findley said.

“We looked for other similar attractions, but couldn’t find

anything to our satisfaction,” she said. “So we left it at that.”

The Adrenaline Drop has packed up and left the state, said Dean

Fryer, spokesman for the Department of Occupational Safety and

Health.

“They’ll have to pass our standards if they ever want to come back

to California,” he said.

Amusement Management International of Carrollton, Texas, operated

the ride at the fair, officials told the Pilot last year, adding that

the event received most of its rides through Ray Cammack Shows of

Laveen, Ariz.

State inspectors check the rides as they are assembled at the

fair, Fryer said.

“It’s routine procedure,” he said.

Ride operators are required to report accidents to his department,

Fryer said.

“Not all accidents need to be reported,” he said. “If someone fell

off and had a scratch, that’s not reportable. What concerns us are

serious injuries and major malfunction.”

The Booster, however, is back this year. Sharla Fisher of Los

Angeles was among the first to ride it on Friday.

“It was good, but it was insane,” she said.

Fisher knew about last year’s incident but said it didn’t matter

to her.

“That’s something falling off by accident,” she said. “I’m pretty

comfortable with the rides here. I wait for this every year.”

Different people have varying theories about the rides. Costa Mesa

resident Heather Picquelle believes that if she came at the beginning

of the fair rather than toward the end, the rides are probably safer.

“I have a feeling that they are inspecting it more often at the

beginning,” she said. “But I do love the rides. It’s why I’m here the

first day of the fair.”

Others, like Hollie Hidalgo of Costa Mesa, believe in “picking the

right rides.”

“I don’t go on anything that’s going to twist and turn me,” she

said, shaking her head at the Inverter. “To me, those aren’t normal

and I wouldn’t be caught riding one of those.”

It’s always good to be cautious about which ride you get on,

Hidalgo said.

“If something can happen at Disneyland, it could definitely happen

at a county fair,” she said.

Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has come under scrutiny

because of recent accidents, including one that occurred Thursday

when a train reportedly bumped into another one and injured three

people.

Mike Ayala of Long Beach had a theory similar to Hidalgo’s about

rides.

“You need to pick and choose,” he said, after getting off the

Ferris wheel, which is one of the slower rides. “I enjoyed the view

and just looking at all the people having fun here.”

Others didn’t believe that certain rides were any more dangerous

than more routine activities such as driving on the freeway.

“At least here these are machines, but on the road, who knows what

condition the drivers are in?” said Alissa Plackitt, who was visiting

from Ontario, Canada. “I think these rides are safer than many of the

things we do every day.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.