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Ohio State Fair Tragedy: 18-year-old victim hasn't woken up since accident

Eighteen-year-old Jennifer Lambert remains in critical condition.

We are learning more about another of the young victims of the state fair accident.

Eighteen-year-old Jennifer Lambert remained in critical condition Tuesday, six days after she was hurt while riding the Fire Ball at the Ohio State Fair.

Jennifer Lambert's mother says her daughter's personality is reflected in her changing hair color: sometimes black, sometimes blue, sometimes something else altogether.

Speaking with 10TV off-camera, Denise Gonzalez called 18-year-old Jennifer lovable, friendly, and outgoing.

A young woman who lives to stay active, whether at family cookouts, the zoo or like last Wednesday night, the Ohio State Fair.

Her mother says Jennifer and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Jacob Andrews, were riding the Fire Ball during last week's catastrophic malfunction.

Video captured the chaos in the moments after show a young woman carrying another female from the ride.

Denise Gonzalez says person being carried is her daughter Jennifer.

Hannah Sallee says she's the one carrying her.

"I was getting off the ride, and I was running out, and then I ran back in and I picked the girl up off the seat, and she was just unconscious," Sallee said. "Her feet were blue like she needed help."

Sallee and her boyfriend Hakim Hussein were also on the Fire Ball.

Sallee was unhurt, Hakim says he suffered fractures in his neck. She said it was clear the girl, who she didn't know, was in worse shape than both of them.

Hannah Sallee and Hakim Hussein

"So I just picked her up over my shoulder and I carried her around. And me and some other gentleman, we sat her on the ground. The back of her head was bleeding. So we got a shirt and put some pressure on it. At that point, an officer had come over to help us. And (Hakim) came over and laid down on the ground. I was like, 'what is going on?' There was just so much happening at one time."

The video shows Jennifer's boyfriend Jacob in the background with an injured leg, and Hussein lying down on the pavement.

Jacob has been released from the hospital. Jennifer is at Grant Medical Center in critical condition.

Her mother says she has been somewhat responsive to touch but hasn't woken up since the accident.

Jennifer was about to begin her senior year of high school at ECOT. Her mother says all she wants right now is for her daughter to open her eyes.

Last week, 10TV interviewed Jennifer Lambert's uncle, who said the family believed Jennifer and Jacob were in line for the Fire Ball, and were injured by flying debris.

The family says in the immediate confusion of the accident, that's what they were initially told.

They have since learned that the two were actually on the ride when they were hurt.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Tragedy at the Ohio State Fair

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