Amusement ride malfunction injures 31

Scenes from the accident.

MUSKEGON, Michigan (CNN) -- A father and son and a teen-age girl were still in fair condition at two area hospitals Tuesday, a day after an amusement park ride spun off its axle and crashed to the ground, injuring 31 people.

The father and son were listed in fair condition at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, and were expected to be released Tuesday, a hospital supervisor said.

The 14-year-old girl was also listed in fair condition with a concussion, said Roberta King, spokeswoman for Mercy General Hospital. The other 28 victims were treated and released Monday.

The "Chaos," which can hold 36 passengers, was loaded with 33 passengers just before 7 p.m. Monday when the ride broke, said Camille Jourden-Mark, vice president of park operations at Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park.

Four people were trapped in their cars for more than an hour after the accident as emergency crews sawed through the wreckage to get to them.

The Chaos is a rotating disc that tilts into the air like a ferris wheel while riders spin around in individual cars.

Video from the scene showed the ride vertical in the air with some cars on the ground with extensive damage.

"Something happened to the center pivot, and then the ride fell," said Kevin Blanchard, chief of the White Lake Fire Department.

Several passengers were forced to remain on the ride, suspended in the air, until rescuers brought in two cranes to stabilize it.

Parkgoers described a frightening scene.

"When the thing broke loose, it almost spun like a wheel," said Don Reaumi, who was watching as the accident occurred.

"I was just watching it go around," said Carmen Scott. "All of a sudden, I heard this huge crack. I stood up and said, 'Oh, my goodness. It's gonna fall.'"

Derek Case, at the park for a family reunion, was on the Shiver-Me-Timbers roller coaster watching the Chaos when the accident occurred.

"It was like a big smash, right down to the ground," he said.

Loren Buckley, whose friend Jennifer Houghton was on the ride, saw the ride spin out of control.

"It was just spinning like normal and then all of a sudden we heard a clank, and it hit the ground and that was about it." Houghton suffered scrapes and bruises but nothing more serious, Buckley said.

Earlier in the day, two parkgoers told The Associated Press that the ride had malfunctioned and customers were taken off.

Park spokeswoman Peggy Wobser said the park opened in the 1970s as a place for children to pet deer. Last month, it was sold to Cedar Fair L.P. of Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar Fair owns parks across the country, including Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, and Valley Fair in Shakope, Minnesota.

Muskegon is a town of about 40,000 people in the western part of the state on Lake Michigan, 171 miles west of Detroit.