(CNN) — A ride operator has been charged with three felony counts of assault after several people were hurt on the Vortex at the North Carolina State Fair, a sheriff’s office said Saturday.
Timothy Dwayne Tutterrow, a 46-year-old from Quitman, Georgia, faces felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said.
“After inspection of the ride, we determined that it had been tampered with and critical safety devices were compromised,” Harrison said.
The sheriff earlier said that five people were injured Thursday night as the ride operator was preparing to offload riders.
By Saturday, three of those were still hospitalized at WakeMed Hospital, while two others had been released.
