A worker was killed Wednesday while conducting routine maintenance on a ride at The Youth Fair taking place in Miami-Dade County.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the ride was not in motion at the time of the accident and no one was on it.
"It's leading toward a malfunction with the ride itself while he was conducting his daily, routine maintenance," said Det. Jennifer Capote with MDPD.
The accident occurred about 15 minutes before the fair was set to open, so no guests were there. The fair eventually opened, but the area was closed to visitors while homicide detectives investigated.
23-year-old Clinton Van-Kraayenburg was an employee of North American Midway Entertainment. He was working underneath the ride when the accident occurred and was pronounced dead when rescue crews arrived.
The ride involved is called the Hurricane, which features six cars that spin around a central tower.
During a press conference, Tony Diaz, General Manager of North American Midway Entertainment, said, "Our deepest condolences go to this individual's family and co-workers in a very difficult time. This is an ongoing investigation and out of respect for this individual, we will not be answering any questions."
According to public inspection reports, this is the third fatal accident for North American Midway Entertainment employees since 2008. One was struck by a ride and killed, another was electrocuted. The company had to pay about $11,000 in fines for both deaths.
The Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition took place at 10901 Southwest 24th Street in Miami and wrapped up on April 10.
