Yo-Yo-type carnival ride investigated after Butte incident Sunday has spotty safety record

One manufacturer’s attempt to provide reassurance about the carnival ride’s safety apparently collided with a language barrier.

“Like other tower rides, a Yo-Yo ride is not dangerous unless the operators and riders follow the safety precautions,” declared Sinorides, a China-based manufacturer of Yo-Yo and other amusement park rides.

Manufacturers of the Yo-Yo ride include Kansas-based Chance Rides, which has had safety issues in years past.

At this writing, the manufacturer hasn’t been identified of the Yo-Yo ride from which a 13-year-old boy fell Sunday in Butte. He suffered serious injuries but is said to be stable in a regional hospital, according to his family. Midway West Amusements operated the ride.

A search focused on Yo-Yo rides found examples of accidents involving this ride type in years past.

In May 2008, a Yo-Yo ride collapsed at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee in California and 23 people were injured. In October of that year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, and Chance Rides Manufacturing announced a voluntary recall to inspect and repair about 85 Yo-Yo amusement rides across the country.

CPSC provided a description of the May 2008 incident: “Riders fell to the ground when the sweep arms suspended the circular swinging chairs they were riding in broke free from the ride’s center cylinder rod.”

The commission said the inspections would focus on preventing future failures.

News outlets in California reported in November 2010 that Chance Rides Manufacturing, Brass Ring Amusements and North American Amusements had agreed to a $3.37 million payment to Robert and Deena Milligan, whose five children were injured in the incident. One child suffered permanent brain damage, according to the litigation.

The California Department of Industrial Relations found that a damaged lock washer failed to hold a pair of nuts in place, causing the arms to crash.

Chance Rides issued a bulletin five months after the accident ordering Yo-Yo ride owners to install a metal plate to prevent the washer from failing.

The 2008 incident in California spurred the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety to prohibit the operation of Yo-Yo rides in that state until inspectors could certify their safety.

The CPSC also reported about an incident involving a Yo-Yo ride in Philadelphia on April 1, 2000. One female and four male riders received minor injuries, the commission reported. Ages ranged from 13 to 22.

The Yo-Yo ride in the Philadelphia case was “made by a predecessor of Chance Rides,” the CPSC reported.

“It was reported that a sweep spreader chain became entangled with the chair chains attached to a snap hook,” the commission reported. “This resulted in the snap hook and chair chains detaching and falling.”

During the 2025 session of the Montana Legislature, a bill passed requiring that all amusement rides operating in Montana must be inspected by a qualified inspector at least once every 12 months, measured from the date the previous inspection certificate was issued.

The law noted that “amusement rides are used by a large number of Montana’s citizens and attract a large number of nonresidents, significantly contributing to Montana’s tourism industry and tax base.”

It also acknowledged, “There are inherent risks associated with the machinery, equipment or animals that are impracticable or impossible for an amusement ride owner or operator to eliminate with all reasonable safety precautions.”

Greg Chiecko is president and CEO of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association. He said inspection laws and regulations governing amusement rides vary from state to state.

He said a carnival could have its equipment inspected in another state within that 12-month period and then operate in Montana.

“The ride has to be inspected once [within that period],” he said. “There’s a high probability it’s not going to be inspected in Montana.”

The inspection is only as good as the inspector, Chiecko said.

A Yo-Yo type amusement ride typically features seats for 32 riders. Double-chained seats are lifted by rotating arms to heights ranging from 15 feet to 30 feet off the ground.

“Massive electric motors spin the entire top canopy,” according to Sinorides. “As the speed increases, centrifugal force pushes the swings outward, causing riders to fly parallel to the ground at high speeds.”

Hydraulic cylinders tilt the rotating canopy so that some riders sweep higher in the air than others as the canopy rotates.

Many articles about amusement rides suggest that fixed rides, such as those in an amusement park, are safer than mobile amusement rides, such as those in a traveling carnival, because the latter experience more wear and tear in set-up and tear-down and in traveling.

Yet Chiecko said that assumption isn’t necessarily accurate. He said operators routinely inspect their rides every time they change locations.

“We have a really high level of safety,” Chiecko said of the industry.

The website for Outdoor Amusement Business Association includes a section titled Carnival Ride Safety.

“Manufacturers and ride owners, along with state regulatory agencies, work together to ensure a safe and enjoyable visit for guests,” the association says.

The organization suggests that amusement rides offer one of the safest forms of recreation available: “Bicycling, ATV recreation, skiing, watercraft, snowmobiling and numerous other similar participatory recreational opportunities cause more injuries and fatalities than mobile amusement rides,” according to the association.

In 2021, the office of the Utah Attorney General brought charges against Midway West Amusements for alleged human-trafficking related crimes. The charges alleged the company had mistreated Mexican nationals who worked for Midway.

The company lists Sun City, Arizona, as its home base.

In July 2021, The Gilbert Sun News, based in another suburb of Phoenix, reported that Midway West Amusements, owned by Nathan and Michelle Jensen, “has had money issues over the years, with numerous state and federal tax liens, according to court records.”

Meanwhile, an officer with the Butte-Silver Bow County police department still monitored on Wednesday the Yo-Yo ride in the parking area of the Butte Civic Center.

“We will keep it secured until our investigation is completed, including an inspection,” said Sheriff Ed Lester.

As of Wednesday, Midway West Amusements was still scheduled to be in Livingston on Thursday.