Teens describe rescue from ride at Napa Town and County Fair

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- There were scary moments this past weekend for a dozen people on board a ride that got stuck at the Napa Town and Country Fair.

It happened Saturday night. Napa firefighters rescued riders with their ladder truck.

"That's crazy. We're stuck at the top of a ride right now!"

Seventeen-year-old Jacob Degraw described and recorded the moment he got stuck on The Rampage ride with his friend, Emery Land. It happened Saturday night at the Napa Town and Country Fair.

"No one really told us what was going on until the firefighter got up there so... they just left us swirling up there and they didn't tell us like we were broke down. We kinda figured it out when the security guard showed up," said Degraw and his friend, Land.

Degraw and Land were two of the 12 people who had to be rescued by firefighters.

"The operators attempted to get it down and for whatever reason couldn't bring it all the way down to the station," said Corey Oakley, who is the CEO of the Napa Valley Expo. He continued saying, "We got a direct connection to fire so we had a ladder truck come out and evac it."

No one was hurt before or during the rescue but Degraw's family says one little girl was shaken up.

"She was crying, on the ground shaking like a leaf, it was pretty rough for her," said Degraw's father, Brandon Degraw.

Organizers say the ride got stuck at the end of the night. In fact, it was going to be the last ride of the night. Once organizers realized there was a problem, they say they contacted authorities with the goal of getting everyone off as quickly and safely as possible.

"You certainly don't want them stuck upside down, you certainly don't want anything like that but I feel very comfortable, this is a great company, they have a great safety record all their protocols worked. Everything they were supposed to do was done in the way they were supposed to do it," said Oakley.

As for Degraw and Land, despite their parents' wishes, they say had planned to go back on the ride Sunday but it was closed.

"Old Mom over there says they're never riding another ride again, but you know it's not true," said Brandon Degraw.

"It's not so bad being stuck on rides, at least that one. It was just really cold, I didn't have a jacket and her jacket was thin, so..." said Degraw.

"I was trying to text my parents but my hands were shaking because it was so cold," said Land.

This was the first time this fair has been held in three years because of the pandemic. Everyone we talked with was just happy that the riders were rescued and are all physically OK.

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