Ferris wheel lawsuit heads to mediation

Published 11:00 am Thursday, September 13, 2018

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A federal lawsuit about injuries from a 2016 accident involving a Ferris wheel owned by a Valdosta company has been ordered into mediation, according to court documents.

The judge’s order in the lawsuit against Family Attractions Amusement Company and Ruby and Dominic Macaroni, Family Attractions’ owners, was issued Sept. 30 in the U.S. District Court in eastern Tennessee.

Mediation attempts between the defendants and a family whose children were reportedly injured in the accident must be completed by Oct. 29, according to the order issued by Magistrate Judge Clifton Corker.

If mediation fails, the court will talk with both sides to determine when the case can be prepared for trial, the order states. The trial was originally slated for Feb. 26.

Three children were injured at a county fair in Greene County, Tenn., Aug. 8, 2016, Det. Capt. Tim Davis of the Greeneville, Tenn., Police Department said at the time.

Emergency crews said they found a gondola on the Ferris wheel had tipped forward and dropped three girls 35-40 feet to the ground, Davis said. Two of the girls, ages 6 and 10, were sisters, while the third girl was 16, said Dr. Bracken Burns, director of trauma services at the Johnson City, Tenn., Medical Center, where the girls were taken for treatment.

Jason and Kimberly Reynolds of Greeneville sued Family Attractions on behalf of their two daughters, the 10-year-old and the 6-year-old, according to the original court complaint. High-Lide Rides Inc., the wheel’s manufacturer, is also named as a defendant.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.