PENSACOLA, FL - A break down at the Pensacola Interstate Fair sent at least four people to the hospital.



Now, those riders and their families want to know what went wrong.



Channel Three's Bill Pearson was on the scene right after the accident.



Carolyn Appelberg and her family had just wrapped up a fun go-around on the Tidal Wave, when the ride operator offered up a little more excitement...



Carolyn Appelberg said, "The dude is like, hey... you wanna go again. So, he turned it back around. It started going real fast. All the things started flying off, it hit my sister in the head. It hit her in the head and hurt her hand, and put a knot in her head."



Nine year old Kayle Hopewell says she escaped injury because of her older sister's quick thinking.



Kayle Hopewell said, "Whenever my sister saw this little metal thing with light bulbs on it, she saw it almost hit me. She pushed me out of the way and covered me up... it slapped her in the head."



Riders were *not the only ones who were caught off guard.



Jason Robbins... A photographer with Channel Three... Was walking by the ride with his kids when the ride suddenly broke down.



Jason Robbins said, "It was just like sheet metal going whoo-whoo-whoo.. back and forth. And all of a sudden it collapsed, the lights came down on top of them. You could hear the bulbs breaking too. And we were like fifty feet away. It's pretty scary. My kids were like, are we on next? I said I don't think so. I think this ride is gonna be closed."



The fair's general manager says safety does come first here... And the rides are regularly inspected.



But right now... He's just thankful the injuries were not more serious.



Don Frenkel said, "All the rides are inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture. This is a manager's worst nightmare, you know. And of course we're concerned about the people. The main thing, it appears they're not seriously injured. Thank God."



Fair leaders say the Tidal Wave has been shut down... And the state will be called in to investigate.



Riders say they hope this accident leads to some kind of new safety improvements before next years event.



Carolyn Appelberg said, "I wanna see safer rides. You know? My little boy could have gotten hurt on the ride. I don't want to see that."



The fair manager says this particular "Tidal Wave" ride can not be used in the State Of Florida, until the Department Of Agriculture gives the okay.Break Down of Fair Ride Injures Several