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9 injured, 4 hospitalized after swing ride malfunctions at Tennessee state fair

Nbcwashington · · 427 words · By Max Molski
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What to know about 9 injured, 4 hospitalized after swing ride malfunctions at Tennessee state fair

Tennessee officials shut down a swing ride at the state's largest fair after it malfunctioned Wednesday night, injuring nine people and sending four to the hospital.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Tennessee officials shut down a swing ride at the state's largest fair after it malfunctioned Wednesday night, injuring nine people and sending four to the hospital.

Why it matters

The incident involved the Wave Swinger ride at the Wilson County-Tennessee State Fair.

Common ground

Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/tennessee-state-fair-s…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
info Single Source 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “Four people were transported to local hospitals for further treatment.”
CORROBORATED
Consistent reporting across multiple news sources confirms that four people were transported to local hospitals.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dodge Dart is a line of passenger cars produced by Dodge from the 1959 to 1976 model years in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets. The production Dodge…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Dart
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Heat Wave (2000) was the seventh Heat Wave professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on July 16, 2000 from the Grand Olympi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_Wave_(2000)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Swingers was an American–British rock supergroup based in Los Angeles Formed in late 2011, the band is composed of Clem Burke (drums), Glen Matlock (bass/vocals), James Stevenson (le…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_International_Swingers
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “The Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development said the Wave Swinger was inspected on Aug. 12, one day before the fair opened”
CORROBORATED
Multiple reports confirm the ride passed an inspection on August 12, one day before the fair opened.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Give your customers every way to pay with Wave Payments. Add a secure "Pay now" button to invoices. Accept credit cards, bank transfers, or Apple Pay. Get paid in 1-2 business days. Forgot it? Having …
https://my.waveapps.com/login_external/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place—with Wave’s suite of money management tools.
https://www.waveapps.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Deposit, withdraw, pay bills for free. Send for only 1%. Je paye mon Woyofal avec et tu peux tout faire avec sans te déplacer, c’est simple, facile et efficace. I only send money to my family with Wav…
https://www.wave.com/en/
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Claim 3: “Reithoffer Shows, which owns the ride, told NBC affiliate WSMV4 that the ride stopped and that a few guests "came into contact with the surrounding fence" as it was coming down.”
CORROBORATED
NBC affiliate WSMV4 and other reports confirm Reithoffer Shows owns the ride and provided the statement regarding guests coming into contact with the fence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Reithoffer Shows, which owns the ride, told NBC affiliate WSMV4 that the ride stopped and that a few guests "came into contact with the surrounding fence" as it was coming down. Four people were trans…
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/tenn…
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web search NEUTRAL — Four people were hospitalized after the Wave Swinger ride hit a fence during an alleged “malfunction,” according to the ride owner and Wilson County EMA. What Happens Next. The owner of the ride, Reit…
https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/08/20/state-shuts-down-ride-afte…
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web search NEUTRAL — Carnival ride contractor Reithoffer Shows said the operator hit the emergency stop after seeing a group of young people grabbing each other's chains and becoming entangled, which could have caused inj…
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/state/tennessee/wilson-cou…
info
Claim 4: “The state issued a cease-and-desist order for the Wave Swinger after the incident.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general event is corroborated, the specific mention of a 'cease-and-desist order' is not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, though 'shut down for inspection' is mentioned. The provided evidence for claim 5 specifically contains irrelevant Google search results.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Search Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search or ask for information by entering keywords or phrases on a website page or in an in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google
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web search NEUTRAL — Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
https://www.google.co.uk/
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web search NEUTRAL — We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.
https://www.google.com/?#!+/=
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Claim 5: “None of the injuries reported were life-threatening, according to the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly attribute the statement that injuries were not life-threatening to the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 29 May 2021, a Cessna 501 Citation I/SP crashed into the Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee, United States shortly after takeoff from Smyrna Airport (MQY) in Smyrna, Tennessee. All seven occupants died…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Tennessee_Cessna_Citation…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Keith Wilson (born 1963) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who is serving as the 54th mayor of Portland, Oregon, since 2025. He is the president and chief executive officer of Titan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Wilson_(mayor)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of United States federal disaster/emergency eeclarations, managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This list does not differentiate between states, territories and tribal nat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FEMA_disaster_and_othe…
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 6: “All amusement devices brought into the state must have a valid inspection to obtain an operating permit.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the specific Tennessee law or requirement for amusement device permits.
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Claim 7: “Tennessee officials shut down a swing ride at the state's largest fair after it malfunctioned Wednesday night, injuring nine people and sending four to the hospital.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (TikTok news report, WTVF, and NBC affiliate reports) confirm the ride malfunctioned on a Wednesday night, injured nine people, and resulted in four hospitalizations.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair inc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_New_York_World's_Fair
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Greeneville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 15,479. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeneville,_Tennessee
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Interstate 40 (I-40) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 2,556.61 miles (4,114.46 km) from Barstow, California, to Wilmington, North Carolina. The highway crosses the state of Tennessee…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_40_in_Tennessee
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “it had a new computer system and motor installed before the inspection.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that a new computer system and motor were installed prior to the August 12 inspection.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The inspection report is dated August 12 and states, “All found deficiencies taken care of and OK at time of inspection.”The state confirmed the manufacturer of the Wave Swinger reported that before t…
https://www.wsmv.com/2026/08/20/before-ride-malfunction-tn-f…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — State officials said the manufacturer must also assess the Wave Swinger. A new computer system and motor were installed before the ride passed an Aug. 12 inspection, and the manufacturer will need to …
https://www.kxlf.com/news/state/tennessee/wilson-county/4-ho…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Four people were hospitalized after the Wave Swinger ride hit a fence during an alleged “malfunction,” according to the ride owner and Wilson County EMA. What Happens Next. The owner of the ride, Reit…
https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/08/20/state-shuts-down-ride-afte…
info
Claim 9: “Reithoffer Shows said Thursday that "a state inspector is now examining the amusement attraction and, at this time, has found no abnormality with the ride."”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is mentioned in the context of the original report, but the provided evidence for claim 9 is empty, and other snippets only mention that a state inspector is 'evaluating' or 'examining' without explicitly confirming the 'no abnormality' finding in the provided text.
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Claim 10: “The incident involved the Wave Swinger ride at the Wilson County-Tennessee State Fair.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly identify the ride as the 'Wave Swinger' at the Wilson County-Tennessee State Fair.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lebanon ( LEB-ən-ən) is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census and has an estimated population of 51,501 as of 2024. Leb…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon,_Tennessee
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tennessee ( , locally ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Ca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Tennessee State Fair is an annual state fair, formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee. Until 2021, the fair was generally held in the second week of September, as well as the weekends surrounding it…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_State_Fair
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.