VALDOSTA, Ga. — The owners of a Georgia-based company who were sued in connection with a 2016 Ferris wheel accident in which three children were injured claim one of the kids was at fault, according to federal court records.

The accident took place at a county fair in Greene County, Tennessee, Aug. 8, 2016, said Det. Capt. Tim Davis of the Greeneville, Tennessee, Police Department.

Emergency crews said 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, Tennessee, Medical Center, where the girls were taken for treatment.

An accident report turned in to Tennessee authorities lists Family Attractions of Valdosta as the owner of the ride and names Ruby and Dominic Macaroni as the company’s owners.

In response to a lawsuit filed in federal court Monday, the Macaronis claim they, individually, have no liability for the Ferris wheel, which was owned by the Family Attractions company. In the lawsuit, the Macaronis were sued along with the Family Attractions company and High-Lite Rides Inc., which built the ride.

The lawsuit response claims one of the children was at fault for standing up and rocking the gondola. The Macaronis also denied employing Jesus Herrera-Cabanas, named in the lawsuit as the man operating the ride at the time of the accident, or Robbie Kelly, named as the supervisor of the assembly, repair, maintenance, operation and disassembly of the Ferris wheel; the men were employed by the Family Attractions company, according to the response.

Burns said the 16-year-old was brought to the hospital in critical condition but improved. The 10-year-old had broken bones in an arm requiring a cast, while the 6-year-old had traumatic brain injuries, he said.

One of the girls was placed in a medically induced coma due to swelling of the brain, according to a lawsuit filed by the girl’s family. 

The Macaronis’ response says the Plaintiffs are not “entitled to any relief whatsoever based on the allegations set forth in the Complaint,” demands a jury trial and wants the lawsuit dismissed.

Richards writes for the Valdosta, Georgia Daily Times.