Fire Ball ride victim returns to State Fair in wheelchair

As the one year anniversary approaches, a victim of last year’s Ohio State Fair ride malfunction and the mother of the young man who was killed in the accident turned out to the Fair today to reflect on the day that changed their lives forever.

The Dispatch reports Keziah Lewis, 20, who spent five months in the hospital following the Fire Ball malfunction, and Amber Duffield, 39, whose son, Tyler Jarrell, was killed on the ride, showed up to the Ohio State Fair wearing shirts that said “Demand Safer Rides!!” and carrying a photo of Jarrell.

Tyler Jarrell, the deceased victim, had signed up to join the United States Marine Corps less than a week before he passed away.

Lewis and Jarrell were dating at the time of the accident.

Keziah Lewis was an English and creative writing student at the University of Cincinnati during the time of the accident. Lewis was also involved in a pop a cappella on campus called UC Vocaholics.

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The Dispatch reports Lewis was in a wheelchair today when she visited the exact spot of her deceased boyfriend’s death.

The seven injured riders and their supporters are pressuring Ohio lawmakers to pass “Tyler’s Law,” which would require the Department of Agriculture to hire an adequate number of inspectors, and encourage them to have backgrounds in engineering.

The tragic events of last year’s opening day commandeered Governor John Kasich’s traditional apperance.

“We do everything we can to make sure we put things in place that are going to be safe,” he said, per The Dispatch. “But, we know no matter what do in life, there is no 100 percent certainty on anything. There’s always risk. There’s a risk when you get in your own car. There’s a risk in your own home. There’s a risk when you step out of your own home.”

For more on last year’s Fire Ball ride malfunction, click here.

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