Hurley carnival ride breaks down, injuring 4

HURLEY - A carnival being held to raise money for the Hurley Fire Department had to be shut down Friday evening after a ride malfunctioned, injuring four people.

Law enforcement officers at the scene around 7:30 p.m. at the Big Snow Country Inn parking lots said one person had been transported from the scene for treatment of unspecified injuries, which did not appear to be life-threatening.

The other three people were apparently treated at the scene.

The carnival was shut down around 6:30 p.m. when a carriage on a Sizzler ride collapsed onto the pavement. There are three large metal arms on the low-riding machine, supporting 12 carriages that aren't far off the ground. Four carriages spin around off each of the three big arms.

Around 8 p.m., the officers at the scene were deciding how to proceed with the investigation and attempting to determine whether they needed to call in a safety investigator.

They said they did not know if the carnival would go on as planned today, which was scheduled to be the last event of three days at the site.

Workers from Spectrum Entertainment, the company that was hired to put on the carnival as a fund-raiser for the volunteer fire department and its annual fireworks display, mulled around the parking lot after the families that had been enjoying the rides had left.

The fireworks are held around the Fourth of July in the nearby Lake Michele area.

Police said they expected to release more information today.

The Associated Press has reported Sizzlers have been the cause of many injuries and deaths over the past 20 years, although millions of people have taken rides on them.

-Ralph Ansami