Investigation Continues Into Death Of Worker At Miami-Dade Fair

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate the death of man who was killed Wednesday while working on a ride at the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition.

"Everybody is a little down, shall I say. It's just so totally unexpected, it was an accident," said Fair CEO Bob Hohenstein. "It was just a normal ride inspection."

North American Midway Entertainment operates the rides at the Fair. A second company, Showtime Rides Inc., performs daily inspections and maintenance on the rides.

"I can tell you that the Dept of Agriculture & Consumer Affairs is here every year inspecting the rides before any of them will ever open. And it's all documented," said Hohenstein.

The 23-year-old victim, who worked for Showtime Rides Inc., was doing routine maintenance on a ride called the Hurricane about 15 minutes before the Fair opened when something went wrong.

Miami-Dade Police described the death as "accidental."

"He was just too young to die," said Hohenstein. "It was an accident. It was unexpected. I mean, yeah, it was tough to deal with."

Chopper4 was over the scene and spotted a yellow tarp towards the middle of the ride under the flooring. The engines and cables of the midway rides are often housed under them. It was unclear if the worker moved those slats to get in there himself or if rescuers moved them to get to him.

When the Fair opened Wednesday at it's usual time, the Hurricane remained closed. Fair-goers seemed unaware that anything had happened.

The Hurricane will remain closed Thursday as OSHA inspectors continue their investigation.

This was the first death at the Fair in its 65 years of operation.

The Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition wraps on Sunday.