18-Year-Old Killed on Ride at Ohio State Fair Died Days After Enlisting in the Marines: 'He Was One of the Brave Few'
The victim who died in Wednesday’s horrific accident at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus was 18-year-old Tyler Jarrell, who enlisted in the U.S. Marines just last week.
Jarrell, of Columbus, was killed when a ride at the fair, called the “Fire Ball,” malfunctioned and sent a gondola filled with passengers into the air around 7:20 p.m. Seven other passengers were injured in the incident.
South-Western City School District confirms that Jarrell would have entered his senior year at Franklin Heights High School next fall. They say he was involved in the school’s NJROTC program, as well as the South-Western Career Academy, where he studied cyber security. “The loss of a student, at any age, is a tragic event,” Superintendent Bill Wise says in a statement to PEOPLE. “We extend our deepest sympathy and most heartfelt condolences to the family, relatives, friends, and classmates of Tyler.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, the Marines confirm that Poolee Jarrell was set to begin basic training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island, South Carolina, next June. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to Poolee Tyler Jarrell’s family and all of those affected by his loss,” the statement reads. “The Marines here are greatly saddened by this tragedy. We are truly proud to have known him as one of the brave few willing to step up and serve his country in the United States Marine Corps.”
Retired U.S. Navy Captain Gerard Lennon, who was Jarrell’s NJROTC instructor at Franklin Heights for three years, found out about his student’s death late last night. Lennon says that Jarrell, like many of his peers, was struggling to decide on a career plan. When Lennon found out Jarrell had signed up early for the Marines, he was ecstatic that the young man had found a goal that would keep him focused during his senior year. “When he put his mind to doing something, he was really well focused,” Lennon says. “It’s just an absolute, absolute tragedy.”
“He was a delightful and pleasant young man who was trying to figure out what he was going to do,” he continues. “He figured it out, and now he’s gone.”
Emily Ogden, 20, who worked with Jarrell at a McDonald’s in Grove City, Ohio, says he was great to work with and had always expressed interest in serving his country. “He was a hard worker, very interested in the police force and the military,” Ogden says. “He was sarcastic, fun loving and meme loving in the best possible way. I can’t believe that he is gone, the world just got a little darker.”
Officials named six of the injured as Tamika Dunlap, 36, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Russell Franks, 42, of Columbus, Ohio; Keziah Lewis, 19, of Columbus, Ohio; Jacob Andrews, 22, of Pataskala, Ohio; Jennifer Lambert, 18, of Columbus, Ohio; Abdihakim Hussein, 19, of Columbus, Ohio; and a 14-year-old male whose name is being withheld at the request of the family.
Video of the incident showed a large part of the structure flying into the air as bystanders screamed.
“We heard commotion on the ride. There was people on the ride like, ‘slow it down, it’s too fast,’ ” one witness, Julian Bellinger, told Good Morning America of the Fire Ball ride at the Columbus fair. “When I [saw] the people fall out, I just turned my head and I couldn’t watch it.”
Nearby, Kaylie Bellomy was waiting for her turn to ride the Fire Ball when tragedy struck, she told WCMH.
“Everybody was running. I got ran over trying to get out of the way,” she said. “I just don’t think I’ll ever ride a ride ever again.”
In the wake of the incident, Gov. John Kasich ordered that all rides at the fair be shut down, as he called for a full investigation.
“I am terribly saddened by this accident, by the loss of life and that people were injured enjoying Ohio’s fair,” he said in a statement.
