Fair operator is trapped by ride at Clay County Fair in witness video
Horrifying moment Florida fairground operator, 28, is trapped between ride’s moving floor as he tried to retrieve customer’s hat
- Davontai Lee, 28, a ride-operator at the Clay County Fair in Florida, was pinned between the moving floors of his own ride on Friday night
- Lee was freed by rescue crews after fifteen minutes, and could be seen pleading for help while stick
- Lee’s condition is not known, but according to his own Facebook post he was still in the hospital and in pain as of Sunday
- Clay County police said in a statement that the ride had been inspected and found not to be at fault in the incident
Distressing video footage captured the moment a fairground operator was trapped from the waist down by a huge metal plate that was lowered into place while he tried to retrieve a customer’s hat.
Davontai Lee, 28, was left pinned down and in pain at the the Clay County Fair in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday night.
Lee, a father of two from Jacksonville, Florida, was rushed to a nearby hospital for evaluation after he was freed from the ride. Further updates on his condition have not been given, but he has posted on Facebook to share his relief at surviving the ordeal.
Local police say that the ride was inspected and found not to be at fault in the incident.
The video showed Lee pinned at the waist between a ramp and the metal floor of the ride. His hips and his legs were not visible beneath the two huge metal plates.
Davontai Lee, 28, became trapped between the moving floor-pieces of his ride on Friday night after attempting to retrieve a customer’s property.
Lee tossed his head back and cried, ‘It hurts,’ as people tried to weigh the floor down beneath him while the ramp up away from his trapped body.
In a press briefing on Saturday, Clay County police said Lee was trapped for about 15 minutes before he was freed.
‘It was a means of just mildly moving some parts around, and then he was able to slide right out,’ said Clay County Fire Rescue Chief David Kuykendell, ‘So he was never actually truly trapped-trapped, it was more like he was caught.’
Clay County Police Chief Jeff Johnson said Lee became caught after he attempted to retrieve a rider’s fallen property.
Lee, a father of two, was transported to local hospital for evaluation after the incident.
‘Long story short, the operator was trying to do a good deed, and he had bad timing.’
‘The man went down to get another persons hat and I guess the floors or whatever had went down on him and pinned him in,’ said witness Keirra Peterson, whose mother, Aurelia Smith, filmed the accident.
Aurelia Smith posted the video on Facebook with the hopes of getting it to Lee’s family.
‘Don’t go to the fair!’ she wrote in the post.
Lee’s condition has not been released, but in a Sunday Facebook comment he wrote that he was still hospitalized and in pain.
‘I’m still at the hospital my back hurts and the side of my stomach where the thing was pushing down,’ he wrote in response to a comment from a well-wisher.
The comment was written on a post he made about the incident.
‘I thank god im still here on the earth right now. I thought i was gone but god had me covered and i appreciate everyone who sent out prayers for me.’ Lee wrote in a post on his Facebook account.
Clay County Police Chief Jeff Johnson and Fire and Rescue Chief David Kuykendell said in a briefing that the ride had been thoroughly checked and found to have no fault in the incident.
In a Sunday post Lee described his harrowing experience and offered thanks for the support he has received.
The Clay County police and fire departments say the ride was thoroughly checked and fount to be safe and not at fault in the incident.
‘I do want to say that the ride had nothing to do with this. The ride is functioning properly. The sheriff’s office along with fire and rescue did an investigation, all the agencies that needed to be contacted were contacted, and the ride is up and running today,’ Chief Johnson said.
‘So come on out and enjoy the ride.’
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