Hero bystanders save carnival ride-goers after nearly tipping over

Eyewitnesses speak out after the incredible moment was caught on camera at a Michigan carnival when the heroes rushed to save the day.
SUBSCRIBE to GMA's KZbin page:
bit.ly/2Zq0dU5
VISIT GMA's homepage:
www.goodmornin...
SIGN UP to get the daily GMA Wake-Up Newsletter:
gma.abc/2Vzcd5j
FOLLOW GMA:
TikTok: / gma
Facebook: / goodmorningamerica
Twitter: / gma
Instagram: / goodmorningamerica

[@voltsiano116]

I saw another video of the same incident. The whole rescue balancing act was kicked off by one person jumping onto the ledge all on his own, with others following suit once they saw what he was getting at. Mad respects.

[@KA-eu9sy]

I think that was the operator.

[@BouncyBrown]

​@@KA-eu9sy it wasn't the operator, just some guy standing in the crowd.

[@laurendaryani4893]

Love it! Quick thinking and compassion. So often, people leave it to others to help others in need through the "bystander effect." Maybe people realized more clearly in this case that there's definitely strength in numbers 🙂

[@johnnelson8956]

These Carnivals are accidents waiting to happen. What do you expect when you get on a ride that is broken down, transported in pieces, and reassembled 40 to 50 times a year? The stresses on some of these rides are enormous. Many of these Carnival companies will hire anyone with a pulse. I would imagine that the level of training is mediocre at best. I loved those rides as a kid. But I know better now.

[@dominiquexo4772]

Went on one yesterday and it was stable 😍

[@janetprebil9488]

You are so stupid. I worked for a carnival for over 30 years. We had a guy from the safety board travel with us and many others. If you did your research a bit more, you will find that stationary amusement parks are far more dangerous than the ones that travel. Don't say what you don't know. POS

[@beepboop9464]

@@janetprebil9488 Am I wrong in thinking that they should of evened out the weight. It looks like everyone is in the front row ?

[@pambronson4467]

I had a friend that worked the carnival ride circuit in the North West. His job with them ended the day he was electrocuted setting up the Spider ride for the Benton Franklin County Fair. He was still in intensive care when the carnival ended, he was fired for missing his shifts running gaming booths.

[@djbrown3186]

I'm not saying it's not a safety hazard I'm just saying you don't go in the carnival rides for the safety of it 😏. Anybody with vision can see the carnival rides are not safe you know that every time you get on one of those rides it's a risk.

[@charlieraven6342]

Everyone talking about the ppl rushing over, no one is talking about the operator jumping off the ride and waving ppl over. Smh he probably got fired too for something not his fault :/

[@jennifergrace5774]

Exactly,he was only guy at first,other people videoing THEN some helped so thats ONE HERO!

[@Ro6entX]

Yeah I was just going to point out that in another video/angle, you can see him going to the fence/rail first before others joined, but then saw you mentioned it first 👍🏻

[@AztecWarrior69_69]

It has been mentioned MANY time. You are not the first one by any means. How bout you notice that it was ONLY men who risked their lives to help those on the ride. So much for women being =. LOL

[@jadaaurie7696]

@@AztecWarrior69_69 another online troll

[@coriowl4689]

@@jadaaurie7696 He's a blind one too, several women helped, you can see it on the video

[@monsterascanbe5170]

This is why I only go to carnivals anymore for the food.

[@i_lovewaffles4093]

Aye carnival eats man

[@John14-6-]

Not when you pay 7 bucks for a soft drink

[@KhaosOfficialYT]

I go to theme, amusement, and carnival parks mainly for the food

[@malfaroangel3896]

you confusing carnivals vs festivals....

[@WheatleyGLaDOS]

Your life sounds fun.

[@sashaj6104]

To all those Amazing People who held it steady until the riders could get off, God Bless!! You are Heroes. I literally had tears watching such a scary moment and humanity stepping in to help one another.

[@heididietrich9800]

I tend not to trust those rides that travel like that. They seem rickety.

[@heygenea2540]

I went to one of those portable carnivals too and the ride me and a friend went on the seat belts came loose. So basically we were spinning in the air at high speed holding on to the chair bars with no restraints until the operator stopped the ride cuz we were screaming as loud as we could to get him to stop.. was terrifying

[@heygenea2540]

@aida aston Thank you! And it was very terrifying. When we got off the guy did absolutely nothing about it and just made us get off. I say if you haven't been you're not missing out

[@Corpsecrusher63]

I've been on that ride before but it was in the country

[@BigDaddy36254]

I don’t think you understand because they are designed the best it was a setup malfunction something wasn’t on tight enough so idk what your trying to prove as I know a lot about fair rides

[@heididietrich9800]

@@BigDaddy36254 I think the constant assembly and disassembly takes it's toll.

[@thetravellingsteampunkkitt5710]

Back in 70’s my dad was called for inspection for a small carnival rides in New Mexico, since my dad had a engineer’s degree and part of the aeronautics machinery on the base he another group of engineers went to inspect the rides, they passed 10 rides outta 20 some had poor performance on the rides like loose bolts, rust on the mechanical, gear loose and rust, the Connies was upset to have to shut down some of the rides, my dad said to them “what if a bolt got loose or a gear came off and a child gets injured, it’s will be all your fault to let a dangerous ride operating in poor condition,” Nowadays it’s pay the fake inspection put a sticker on it and let the ride go crazy for in fact to get someone killed

[@AztecWarrior69_69]

What the hell are "Connies"

[@thetravellingsteampunkkitt5710]

@@AztecWarrior69_69 they’re are ride operators live on the carnivals or travelling people

[@thysonsacclaim]

@@thetravellingsteampunkkitt5710 - You mean Carnie

[@tammy00098]

All about money in everything these days and forget the rest

[@jamesturner8080]

Safety of the Ride Is the responsibility of the owners of the Ride and Amusement park operators more people died of covid 19 then riding a ride

[@samuelolatunde3939]

This is why I'm always skeptical and they'll say I'm afraid 😨

[@freda2758]

I never ride any amusement or carnival rides in red states. They don't care enough about the safety of people until it's too late. Look at Florida.

[@dannyran8070]

Shut up Karen yet u drive on the road each day & every single day that a lot of people loose there lives on? Answer this do u see more deaths in car accidents or ride accidents? Idiot

[@JH-ej2yt]

@@dannyran8070 a lot of folks need a source of public transportation or their own cars, both run risks of course but if the job is needed and far, so is the transportation. Amusement park rides aren’t a need, it’s a want. At which point you’re only furthering your chances of a fatal accident.. idiot.

[@muhfkajones]

@@dannyran8070 That's apples to oranges, dummy

[@tobythetiger8034]

Rather be safe, than sorry:)

[@Music4EverKanekavi]

That’s America right there. That’s how we do it

[@LindaC616]

Except for that one person who was filming, yes

[@dominiquexo4772]

No. In the Caribbean do it as well😍

[@lizagates6252]

Literally everything is broken

[@jessii967]

nah that’s just decent people

[@trashmammal9203]

Yep! That's America, always cutting corners and relying on everyone else to fix it!

[@minty_Joe]

Okay, my $0.02... For those saying this ride wasn't near the river...wrong. Arnold's Amusement set up their rides and such in the same parking lot that holds the city's local Farmer's Market every year on the weekends during the late spring through summer. The parking lot sits along the bank of where the Boardman River connects with West Grand Traverse Bay. The path of the river is north/south about 3 miles inland, but ends up traveling east/west as it gets closer to the mouth of the bay. What happened is part of the stabilizing bars at the bottom of the ride were on the asphalt while the bars on the back were likely on the less solid dirt ground between the embankment and the parking lot. Either that or the ride was positioned on an area of the parking lot where it is sloped more toward the water. What we can't see is where the rear stabilizers are sitting on. There is a sidewalk that is between the embankment and the asphalt. The stabilizing bars are similar to the kind you see on an excavator; these too are lowered on each side to prevent it from tipping over when on unlevel ground or lifting something heavy. Now, not to get political, but one thing I've learned about government agencies is they get paid whether they do something or not. Also factor in less people doing inspections due to the pandemic. I'll let you ponder that one, whether true or not.

[@jamesturner8080]

Sounds like a logical explanation

[@Dogsanddecor]

Thank God for kindhearted people

[@madmudd96]

This ride comes to my local fair every summer!! 😳😳 I rode that soo many times when I was a kid

[@melindamullins9971]

HUMANITY RESTORED IS ALWAYS THE VERY BEST THANK GOD FOR SWEET AND CAREING BYSTANDERS GOD BLESS THAM ALL.

[@Hunter225]

Several years ago, I was on a ride that just went backwards, and in a circle. The ride derailed, shortly after starting. My car, the car in front of me, and my friend's car behind me, flipped over. I ended up with broken ribs, severe bruising, sprained elbow, and a broken leg. My friend got a broken wrist, broken ribs, and a broken ankle. The other people had bruises, one broke her arm, the other, broke both his legs. I will never go near a theme park again.

[@elle5031]

@Jule Hunter...so sorry you went through that. Should have never happened.

[@Hunter225]

@@elle5031 It's ok, that ride was shut down for good. Everyone made a full recovery. It was terrifying though.

[@uptownla5o4]

Did you get a settlement

[@Hunter225]

@@uptownla5o4 Yes, I can't say how much though. Most went to medical bills. The rest paided off past medical bills.

[@Pugkin5405]

Because that happens every day?

[@snoopyjace]

Thank you to the people who helped stop tragedy from Happening

[@brendatuck6871]

I worked for Strates, wade shows and Jim's rides for 20 + years and we inspected the rides every day. The operator did good by getting people attention to hold the front part of the ride down so that he can stop the ride. I was an operator for the big rides and kiddy land.

[@erniehardeman7228]

Then you more than anybody else should know that nothing the people did stopped this ride from tipping over.That ride has been around since the 80s and has never tipped over.It weighs in at about 50k pounds.It swings over the top of the platform not across it.All the force would push it down.You couldn't put enough people on the entire platform to do anything.These people are not brave their stupid.You are too for acting like this was a big deal

[@nailsthatstunt3665]

I wonder if it were too many on it? Or the amount of weight maybe? Anyway, I'm glad they weren't hurt or killed.

[@mazvitaselemani]

Nah it's probably lack of maintenance because they test the maximum weight allowed on these. The mechanism of a 12 seater ride is built to take wayyyyy more people. These rides haven't functioned for a while due to the past lockdowns so lack of maintenance is my guess

[@nailsthatstunt3665]

@@mazvitaselemani good point

[@josephfuquay9587]

@Nails That's what it is Weight and balance over Max capacity on magic carpet ride.

[@danielguizar360]

First off glad no one was hurt and they prevented a tragedy!! Secondly this is why I prefer actual theme parks then going to cheap carnivals 🎡 that don’t do inspection on rides

[@Pugkin5405]

Yes, because the chances of anything happening at either are slim

[@a.walters123]

What is wrong with amusement park rides malfunctioning in the last few weeks? That little boy was killed on the raging river a few weeks ago.

[@Pugkin5405]

Probably because they haven't been used in a while because of Covid

[@terilouder8711]

As I always say “ I’ll never ride anything they “unfold.”

[@aboytesmendoza11]

0:21 Not kindness... bravery 🙏❤

[@jenniferkalchik6712]

It rained nearly every day of the 🍒 festival. Wind and rain, go hand in hand. I was surprised to see the rides still going as I had my windshield wipers on.

[@TucsonDude]

What's more important: Catching the accident on your phone OR actually doing something about it?

[@East_1305]

Catching the footage is actually important for a proof. The cameraman probably thought he couldn't do anything

[@jaretsalome6173]

Thanks to all the people to help them not to flip over.

[@WilliamHollinger2019]

I gave up on a carnival now thanks to this.

[@Pugkin5405]

Yes, because stuff like this happens every day. Totally not a small chance

[@rhiannawagonerrw]

A lot of people was saying the operator left. He had to jump off. From where he was standing it would have killed him. But he turned it off and ran to try and hold it down . He was actually the first person that started trying to hold it down from flipping

[@evielong6531]

Literally an hour ago, a lady at the small fair in my city, fell of the ride and her legs got crushed. I saw it happen

[@ShaelinDougall]

THISE are some amaing people!

[@abbiereynolds8016]

If that was me on that ride I wouldn't even want to look at a picture of one ever again😂😂

[@johncase1353]

The ride was just headbanging to Crazy Train by Ozzy that was playing in the background.

[@big7c]

Humanity wins a person's skin color doesn't matter humanity matters.

[@Sliverbane]

I remember hopping on my favorite ride (The Zipper) at a Texas carnival around 2005. When the attendant closed the cage. I looked around and noticed on several different points, the cage was held together by different types of nuts and bolts, etc. None of them looked uniform. Some connections had washers, others didn't. Some of the nuts looks worn smooth, some were rusty. I made it off alive. Then looked up the ride. Turns out the manufacturer no longer existed so there were no replacement parts. So what I was just being thrown together. I opted to avoid that particular ride despite all the wonderful childhood memories. Update: I recently found out that people died on that ride!! O_O

[@hunterjensen8510]

-___- chance is still in business with plenty of parts available

[@jackierockers3552]

Really need to inspect all those rides. Very scary!

[@kristenroberts4502]

The only carnival ride I’ve ever ridden broke right after I got off, and spun out of control for 45 minutes on the next passenger load. I was over that shit real quick after that.

[@joshualowe959]

They should have inspected those rides more carefully

[@PatriciaLLogan]

Every morning is not enough inspection for me. inspect these rides everytime someone gets off.

[@txsweetie03]

OMG! How scary!

[@undertaker6042]

Best thing to do is do not take a ride at all. Then you can be safe.

[@easye5653]

Yes. It also reminds me of that high sitting swing ride at amusement parks, each hanging by multiple chain links. I always am afraid it will break and i'll be flung across the park! Yikes.

[@roblee4480]

That's Michiganders for ya,They always step up

[@katelynmarie8069]

it’s so scary.. i used to go in that same ride ALL THE TIME 😳😳

[@waveywolf.]

At least we have some faith in humanity.

[@pandabaerhellas]

In germany its mandatory, that there will be a TÜV- check each time of assembling! I whish they would slowly understand, that this is the only way to prevent accidents.

[@kris37tal]

OMG that’s so SCARY !!! 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😻😻😻

[@adhirajsingh3086]

Whos here from distractible🙂

[@bigbangluvabc123]

I am !! :)

[@grateful1929]

So I didn't see any rescue. Did I miss it?

[@alexapapp14]

Lol when you click this just to see the video then notice your state on the no oversight list

[@aaronyboi807]

I didnt ger it until you pointed it out.

[@amariahlovelace5113]

The line for the carousel just got longer

[@EvilMouse068]

"Look at these brave citizens" Blocks brave citizens with channel banner

[@colemaxson22]

this happened the day after my birthday and the day after i ride that exact ride (i live in traverse)

[@KQuinn672]

Why I don’t go on rides! Pray they are ok!

[@PremieetwinsJnJfamilyadventure]

Good job done bystanders

[@survivinglife4684]

So wait, who's the one filming the other people helping? hmm

[@purpleice7277]

So horrifying!!!

[@robbietummel7086]

shit happens. glad everyone was safe and good people around to help

[@wyomingadventures]

It's obvious all the weight was on one side of it without anchors for the other side.

[@zenos.5315]

My children were never allowed to jump on these silly contraptions. Have you ever watched the people that assemble these rides?

[@Pugkin5405]

Yes, because a few videos online proves that anyone who touched these rides have no clue what they're doing

[@karsonplays4881]

I live in one of the 9 states that doesn’t inspect. I’m going to one very soon 😩✋

[@jessicawinkler7537]

When you have these things go up in just a day this is not surprising. These should be thoroughly inspected before each use.

[@vholt1000]

I don’t do carnival rides anymore for reasons like this. My mom also told me a story later in my life(in my 20’s) about how she went on a carnival ride once with my younger brother and his restraints gave way during the ride and and she had to hold onto him for dear life. Otherwise he probably would have been thrown off and killed.

[@epicsmiley3598]

My grandfather (in the 50s) was on a ride called the flyer, and as it was in the 50s, the ride didn't have to go through the measures a ride has to go through these days. So this incident happened when he was around 10 years of age, and after the first banked turn, he was nearly ejected as he was on the side of his seat, holding on. His father was beside him, and he had to hold on to him as he could see that he was on the brink of flying out.

[@messiman9461]

You never hear stuff like this happening at amusement parks only carnivals

[@gamechimp869]

You absolutely hear about accidents happening at amusement parks

[@ss6truks]

I used to think the thing about the girl getting her legs chopped off at Six Flags on the Superman ride was an urban myth but it really happened and they closed that particular ride for good and I think someone got hurt on the King Kong ride at Universal that's usually the reason alot of rides close or they "repurpose" that area of the park into another theme

[@JJKid-yw7vk]

Let’s just hope the OC fair will be nothing like this

[@xilem7126]

Wow that only happened like 6 days ago lil slow their abc

[@JoMaSaOfficial]

Carnival rides are dirty and dangerous AF ! My friend got hit in the head w a tire that flew off the Zipper Ride

[@pablonator3000able]

Carnies dont make nearly enough money to maintain safety certificates or inspections, let's be real these accidents are preventable and everyone should be more strict about their safety.

[@jayryker8261]

Good morning!👊🏽

[@lindseyhendrix2405]

1:20 this was in front of A RIVER? Lordy

[@maymelden]

My husband is a mechanical engineer. He doesn't let us go on carnival rides..we only go on rides at amusement parks. The reason why is that they are taken down and put up to fast. Things get missed.. obviously this is what happened.. things got missed and looked over

[@latoshaadams3828]

It never shows Till the end

[@xKatatonicx]

Who else is here because of the Distractible podcast?

[@billymadisonsshampoo8223]

I will never let my daughter go on these rides that get put up in hours.

[@roseh189]

I bet if you never saw this video though?

[@erikawilliams9558]

Ride accidents are actually pretty uncommon. That's why they make the news

[@billymadisonsshampoo8223]

@@erikawilliams9558 oh. Well that makes me feel better! It does make sense now that I think about it.

[@billymadisonsshampoo8223]

@@roseh189 ya know Rose, to be honest i really dont know. My daughters name is Rose!! Probably wouldn't give it much thought. The other commenter pointed out a good point, that they dont happen often which is why they make the news. It make sense for sure.

[@dannyran8070]

Then please make sure to never let you’re daughter in a car & on the road since there’s more injuries & deaths then on these rides lmao

[@samer6207]

Im freaking out am was on that ride tow days ago

[@BambooScar]

No oversight needed because “freedom”.

[@ariesshine1857]

This chicka said she couldn't believe what she was seeing 😕🤔it happene & I'm not surprised a bit .. 🙏🏽😟

[@smurfvfx4139]

the fact it’s on a river 🤦‍♂️

[@lisalisa20907]

I don’t understand the story - did the bystanders hold the base down? Maybe it’s my eyesight. I am very glad everyone is okay. The story and video aren’t clear, though.

[@cookiemonster-ix2zc]

I stop going to carnivals in high school.

[@necctara1654]

i do not ever ever ever go on private owner carnival rides. And or corporate/large theme park trill rides for that this cause!!!!!

[@yrasphong]

The operator couldn't just shut down the ride?.does it have an emergency stop button???

[@sabrina.natalie]

🚶🏾‍♀️🎡 I’ll just stick to eating my fry bread and funnel cake…

[@kell-d2348]

Hello there

[@Vincent-Vega24]

Here is a good, Free tip..... If it only takes an hour to put up a ride that should take days..... DONT GET ON IT!!!!!!

[@susie1175]

Looks like someone’s getting sued

[@leaveusalone2135]

Fair rides are dangerous!!

[@gamechimp869]

That's the point of them though

[@teddyjam8134]

I wouldn't even get on the merry go round at a carnival.

[@JRBowling1997]

Would you at Disneyland?

[@BDNeon]

Why the fuck didn't the Operator hit the E-Stop button?

[@TodayismyBirthday923]

I live in Michigan 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@kell-d2348]

Hello there

[@kell-d2348]

How are you Shantel

[@BellaEstrella017]

Am I bugging bc on this video it was hard to tell anything was wrong with that ride . I’m sure in person was more noticeable 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@sarahburgess9870]

You mean aside from it clearly looking like parts of it were lifting off the ground?

[@USSResolute]

Not a single bear showed up to help, but women will contend that men are the problem.

[@johnstonlildb8157]

I actually have help set one of those up before at the state fair here in Missouri and that’s like a 10,000 pound bike just the arm and it folds in half and that’s crazy I can’t believe it did that somewhere there must’ve been something not that’s crazy

[@Porter5habazz]

A lot of these carnivals that come through the states have temp workers.

[@John_Cole]

The Incident Caused By A Person Or It Just A Malfunctioned System Controller.

[@lsthree6996]

Why didn't they cut the power off?

[@DelaneyWalker]

I was on a ride like that as a kid and at the top my seatbelt broke and popped up. Luckily people next to me could hold onto me until they could stop it. It was another very small 3 day fair. Not fun🥴🥴

[@prettybarbie9273]

This is why I don't go to carnval rides. They are put up too fast and a lot of the maintenance people are addicts.

[@PatriciaLLogan]

I do not, repeat, do not go on carnival rides anymore. In fact, someone's teen was killed at the Ohio State Fair back in 2014. The Parents sued the company I believe.

[@Pugkin5405]

Oh, shocker. Someone died. Every carnival ride breaks down every day, right? Totally not uncommon?

[@Silverwind_23]

Did the people really stop it?

[@JxT1957]

where was the guy controlling the ride so he can stop it? did he just leave the ride going and go for a snack break?

[@lizagates6252]

The world is broken

[@susana01992]

And that is why I don't do high rides

[@Happyboymargarine]

We saw nothing. Thx

[@arianak9402]

My parents would never let me on carnival rides when I was a kid.