Family of teen killed at Ohio State Fair to file wrongful death lawsuit
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) -- The family of 18-year-old Tyler Jarrell, the Columbus man who died after an accident on a ride at the Ohio State Fair, has retained legal counsel to investigate the incident and file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Kitrick, Lewis & Harris said Jarrell's family hired the firm, which specializes in personal injury and consumer class actions. Jarrell's mother said the motivation was to find out the cause of the tragedy and to help prevent other accidents from happening.
“Everyone who knew Tyler is grief-stricken and in shock,” said Tyler’s mother, Amber Duffield. “We just need to know how and why this happened, and whether it could have been avoided. We hope our demand for real answers will save others from being hurt or killed because of bad or dangerous amusement park rides.”
The law firm said it has retained Introtech, a company that deals with crash reconstructions, to investigate the tragic incident and determine how and why it happened. The investigators will work with the State Highway patrol, the Department of Agriculture, the State of Ohio, the City of Columbus, and any other agencies involved to ensure that the evidence is preserved and the incident is fully examined and explained.
“Tyler was a good young man, with a bright future ahead of him,” said attorney Mark Kitrick. “This was a senseless, tragic incident that likely could have been avoided. Our only goal in filing a wrongful death suit is to obtain justice for Tyler.”
