The scream isn’t the first thing that strikes you when you watch the cell phone footage from the New Roads Harvest Festival. It’s the quiet moment just before. Against the November sky, the Ferris wheel is spinning slowly and a little bored, just like Ferris wheels always do. Next, a tub tips. Next, a door that shouldn’t have been open snags on the sweep, a moving spoke. And in a small Louisiana town that had no intention of making national headlines that weekend, three girls, all under the age of thirteen, fall roughly twenty feet onto the ground.
For months now, the WBRZ Investigative Unit has been working on this case, and the more they investigate, the worse it appears. The wheel passed its annual inspection, according to documents the station was able to obtain. Until you find out who has been conducting the inspections, that sounds comforting. Since the state legislature covertly delegated the task to outside parties in 2016, the inspectors inspecting these rides may legitimately work for the same carnival companies that run them. It’s difficult not to get a little shocked when you read that. Who believed that was a smart idea?
| Key Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Incident Location | New Roads, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana |
| Date of Accident | November 1, 2025 (Harvest Festival) |
| Ride Involved | Ferris wheel operated by Crescent City Amusements |
| Victims | Three teenage girls under age 13; two seriously injured |
| Reported Injuries | Broken bones; one brain bleed |
| State Fire Marshal | Bryan Adams |
| Lead Lawmaker | Rep. Jeremy Lacombe, District 18 |
| Inspection Authority (Pre-2016) | Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office |
| Inspection Authority (Post-2016) | Third-party inspectors, often carnival employees |
| Planned Reform | 40 new NAARSO-trained inspectors, ~$2,000 per trainee |
| Status of Ride | Cease-and-desist on the wheel and two others |
| Investigative Source | WBRZ Channel 2 Investigative Unit |
It’s obvious that State Fire Marshal Bryan Adams didn’t, and he’s been expressing this on camera with a level of direct annoyance that’s uncommon for a state official. He wants to regain control over inspections. His office intends to train twenty to twenty-five employees as NAARSO-certified ride inspectors by early December; a follow-up WAFB report places that figure closer to forty additional bodies, on top of the eighty he already has. The cost of the training is roughly $2,000 per person. Listening to him gives the impression that he isn’t attempting to score points. In November of next year, he hopes to avoid having to stand in front of a microphone once more.
However, Greg Brooks, the owner of Crescent City Amusements, reportedly informed investigators that the door-catching-on-the-sweep flaw is a known manufacturing defect that his company is not legally allowed to modify. Go over that sentence twice. a recognized flaw. A ride that never stops moving between towns. Additionally, a 2023 Wisconsin incident involving riders hanging upside down for more than three hours was linked to Brooks’s company. Days before, that ride had also passed inspection.
Even though the carnival is packed outside the New Roads festival grounds, people are still talking. After witnessing the aftermath that evening, Eddie Jones, a parent, told WAFB that he would feel safer giving his daughter a ride now. He added, almost as an afterthought, that operators themselves most likely also require certification. He’s not incorrect. Metal fatigue is detected by inspections. The man who failed to latch the door is not apprehended.
There are several ongoing lawsuits. The legislation is progressing. No one can be certain that any of it would have altered the events in New Roads. Adams acknowledges this. However, as this develops, there’s a subtle sense that Louisiana was fortunate in a way that it shouldn’t have to rely on twice. Now, two of those girls are recuperating at home. And so is the third. The Ferris wheel is parked somewhere under a cease-and-desist order, waiting for a system that has finally, belatedly, chosen to take a closer look.
