6-Year-Old Girl Suffers 'Traumatic Brain Injury' After Falling From Ferris Wheel At Tennessee County Fair

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- One of three girls who fell from a Ferris wheel at a county fair in Tennessee suffered a traumatic brain injury and remained in critical condition Tuesday, a doctor said.

Dr. Bracken Burns, director of trauma services for Johnson City Medical Center, said the critically injured 6-year-old was in a seat with her 10-year-old sister and a 16-year-old female, who were both in stable condition.

"She does have a traumatic brain injury," Burns said, according to CBS affiliate WJHL-TV. "She is in critical condition. She has been under the continual care of the pediatric surgery service, the pediatric intensive care unit team, as well as the neurosurgery team here. We are continuing to monitor her progress, but she does unfortunately remain in critical condition at this time."

Burns said the 10-year-old suffered injuries to her forearms. He said he couldn't give out information on injuries that the 16-year-old suffered.

Greeneville Police Capt. Tim Davis said the three fell 30 to 45 feet on Monday night at the Greene County fair when their seat flipped over.

Asked about reports that the seat was rocking before it flipped, Davis said police have not been able to confirm that but they are still interviewing people.

"At the time of the fall, the gondola was tipped to the interior of the ride approximately 90 degrees and the gondola was located at the 3 o'clock position of the ride," according to a release obtained by WJHL.

Davis said no one interviewed by police on Monday indicated that they saw the seat rocking.

He said police are continuing to investigation but won't have further information until third-party investigators complete their inspection of the Ferris wheel.

"We have no idea how these machines function," he said "We have to wait for the inspectors to get here and to actually look at the device and see if they can determine if it was mechanical in nature or something else."

Gregory Lynthacum told WJHL the car the girls were in appeared to get caught as the wheel lifted them upwards.

"It was like watching water pouring from a glass," Lynthacum said. "They bounced off the metal bridging of the ride and eventually hit the ground."

Bobby Holt, acting president of Greene County Fair Board, said all rides operated by Family Attractions Amusement company were closed afterward and won't reopen until a third-party inspection is complete and approved by state and fair officials.

He said the fair board also is hiring its own third-party investigator.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the three individuals and their families," he said.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)