Incidents at independent parks

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Contents 1 Coney Island 1.1 Polar Express 2 Expoland 2.1 Fujin Raijin II 3 Hersheypark 4 Holiday World 4.1 The Raven 4.2 The Wave 5 Kennywood 5.1 The Whip 6 Knoebels 6.1 Scenic Skyway 6.2 Speed Slide 7 Magic Springs and Crystal Falls 7.1 Old No. 2 Logging Co. Log Flume 7.2 Twist and Shout 7.3 X-Coaster 8 Old Indiana Fun Park 9 Playland 9.1 Dragon Coaster 9.2 Mind Scrambler 9.3 The Whip 9.4 Ye Old Mill 9.5 Guest altercations 10 Siam Park 10.1 Flume ride 10.2 Water slide 11 Water Park of America 12 Water Works Park 13 References

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various independently-owned amusement parks, water parks or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at an independently-owned park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

• Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberately intent to break park rules.
• The result of a guest's known or unknown health issues.
• Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
• Act of God or a generic accident (eg slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

[edit] Coney Island

Main article: Coney Island

[edit] Polar Express

• On August 5, 2007, a restraining lap bar broke causing an unidentified 15-year-old girl to fall out of her seat and into the center of the ride where she was briefly knocked unconscious. The ride was running in reverse at the time. The victim was taken to the hospital with head and leg injuries, and complaining of neck and back pain.^[1]

[edit] Expoland

Main article: Expoland

[edit] Fujin Raijin II

• On May 5, 2007, 19-year-old Yoshino Kogawara from Higashiomi, Shiga was killed and nineteen other guests injured when the Fujin Raijin II derailed at Expoland in Suita, Osaka. Initial reports said that forty people were injured, with thirty-one being taken to the hospital.^[2] An investigation revealed that the ride derailed due to a broken axle. None of the ride vehicle's axles had been replaced for fifteen years.^[3] Following this accident, similar coasters at other Japanese parks were voluntarily shut down and inspected to see if they could also have the same axle flaw.^[4] Expoland was cited by authorities for faulty maintenance when similar axle cracks were found on a second train a month later.^[5]

[edit] Hersheypark

Main article: Hersheypark

• Of the 1.4 million visitors to the park in 2006, 55 people were injured at Hersheypark during the year, none seriously.^[6]

[edit] Holiday World

Main article: Holiday World

[edit] The Raven

• On May 31, 2003, 32-year-old Tamar Fellner of New York City, New York died after falling out of the The Raven roller coaster during the ride's 69-foot drop. Witnesses told investigators they saw Fellner standing up in the car as it neared the drop. An investigation after the accident showed that Fellner's seat restraints were working correctly and no mechanical deficiencies were found on the coaster. The coroner's office ruled Fellner's death as accidental.^[7] However in 2005, Fellner's family members filed lawsuits against both Holiday World and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company; the manufacturer of the coaster trains.^[8] The lawsuits were settled out of court in 2007. ^[9] Terms of the settlements were undisclosed.

[edit] The Wave

• On July 4, 2007 an unidentified 29-year-old woman from Fort Wayne, Indiana collapsed near the edge of The Wave pool, falling into the water. Lifeguards attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. An autopsy showed that the woman died of congestive heart failure.^[10]

[edit] Kennywood

Main article: Kennywood

[edit] The Whip

• On May 31, 2002, a 29-year-old female guest from Monroeville, Pennsylvania was killed when the roof of The Whip ride collapsed during a microburst. On July 20, 2007, a trial jury awarded the victim's family US$1.21 million. A second trial will determine liability between Kennywood and the company that built the structure.^[11]

[edit] Knoebels

Main article: Knoebels

[edit] Scenic Skyway

• On June 13, 2003, a man was seriously injured in a 30-foot-fall from the Scenic Skyway chairlift ride at Knoebels Amusement Park. The man was a member of a group home for mentally disabled people and was riding alone. The man was airlifted to a local hospital and recovered. The ride opened just 2 weeks prior to the accident. Inspectors found no problems with the ride. ^[12]

[edit] Speed Slide

• On March 2, 1999, an attorney representing two girls who sustained injuries while riding a water slide at a Pennsylvania amusement park discovered a history of complaints of injuries made by riders after they had ridden the same ride. Fifteen injuries had been reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards in recent years, including six other reports of injuries to riders' genital areas. The Speed Slide, also known as the Super Slide, is a 40-foot vertical drop water slide attraction. The tort lawsuit filed sought $9,200 in medical costs and at least $50,000 in damages on behalf of one girl, age 11. The suit also sought $5,300 in medical costs and at least $100,000 in damages on behalf of the other girl, age 12. The park was charged with negligence, failure to monitor the amount of force of the water and its effect on riders, failure to fix defects, and failure to provide adequate warnings to riders. ^[13]

[edit] Magic Springs and Crystal Falls

Main article: Magic Springs and Crystal Falls

[edit] Old No. 2 Logging Co. Log Flume

• On September 4, 2006, an unidentified 11-year-old boy was injured when a stray .22 caliber bullet struck him in the wrist. Police had no suspects in the case.^[14]

[edit] Twist and Shout

• On July 30, 2006, 45-year-old Felicia Robinson of Memphis, Tennessee fell from the Twist and Shout coaster due to centripetal force. Robinson fell about 11 feet, and was taken to a local hospital.^[15] Inspectors said that Robinson was too large for the ride, causing the restraints to not work properly. A report by the Arkansas Department of Labor stated that the ride operator should not have let Robinson occupy more than one seat on the ride. Robinson sued the park and the ride's importer for US$16 million, claiming that the park failed to seat her properly, and that the ride did not provide adequate safety features.^[16]

[edit] X-Coaster

• On June 9, 2007, a bird or other large animal crossed electrical wires in nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas^[17], causing a 25-minute long power outage to the park. This caused many of the park's rides to shut down. Twelve riders on X-Coaster were left hanging upside down 150-feet above the ground for 30 minutes. Those riders were rescued by the local fire department who used a generator to provide enough power to the ride so the vehicle could coast to a lower access point. Riders on other attractions were evacuated by park employees without incident. Nausea was the primary complaint of the rescued X-Coaster riders, although one 37-year-old X-Coaster rider was taken to the hospital complaining of neck pain and a headache. The park has experienced minute power outages in the past with no incidents.^[18]

[edit] Old Indiana Fun Park

Main article: Old Indiana Fun Park

• On Thursday, August 11, 1996, 4-year-old Emily Hunt was paralyzed from the chest down and her 57-year-old grandmother, Nancy Jones was killed after the miniature train ride at the Old Indiana Fun Park derailed and overturned as it approached a curve. The two victims were crushed under the weight of the cars . Upon investigation, the train was traveling much faster than its design speed of 12 miles per hour.^[19]

[edit] Playland

Main article: Playland (New York)

[edit] Dragon Coaster

• In 1988, an 8-year-old girl choked to death while chewing gum on the ride.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Mind Scrambler

• On June 29, 2007, a 21-year-old female park employee from White Plains, New York was killed^[20] when the ride was prematurely started by a second employee while the victim was still assisting guests with their safety restraints. Park officials stated that a safety precaution (put in place after the 2004 Mind Scrambler incident) was not followed.^[21] A report issued by the state's Labor Department on August 24, 2007 agreed with both the park officials' original assessment and a July 2007 police report in that the ride operators were running the ride improperly. The Labor Department's report states that the second ride operator started the ride knowing that the victim was not properly seated, and cited the ride's owner for providing inadequate training^[22].

• On May 22, 2004 a 7-year-old girl from New Rochelle, New York was killed when she fell out of the ride after sliding herself free of the restraining bar.^[20]

[edit] The Whip

• In the 1920s, a 19-year-old man was killed when flung off of the ride.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Ye Old Mill

• On August 3, 2005, a 7-year-old boy from Norwalk, Connecticut died of blunt force trauma to the head after he fell or climbed out of a boat on the Ye Old Millride, where he became trapped underwater by a conveyor belt.^[20]

[edit] Guest altercations

• On July 4, 2006, a 43-year-old man from Queens, New York drowned after wading into a man-made lake that is off-limits to swimmers. An autopsy showed the victim has a blood alcohol level several times the legal limit.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Siam Park

Main article: Siam Park

[edit] Flume ride

• On October 23, 2007, one woman was killed and five others injured when the ride vehicle fell 20 meters to the ground from the top of the lift hill. Park management said that there was a drop in electric power, causing a water pump to fail to control sufficient water level on the ride^[23].

[edit] Water slide

• On January 12, 2008, 28 children, ages 10 to 13, were injured when they fell two meters to the ground after the final sections of the corkscrew water slide collapsed^[24].

[edit] Water Park of America

Main article: Water Park of America

• On May 22, 2006, 39-year-old Tommy Lee of Lakeville, Minnesota suffered a bruised spinal cord while attempting to ride the FlowRider wave ride on a boogie board. He had two titanium screws and a plate inserted into his neck to stabalize vertebrae and relieve pressure on his spinal cord. Doctor reports stated that Lee was almost paralyzed, but he has regained some movement in his limbs shortly after surgery.^[25]

[edit] Water Works Park

• On August 5, 2007, an unidentified 10-year-old girl suffered severe internal injuries while riding the speed slide at the Denton, Texas park. The accident report filed by the on-duty lifeguards stated that the injuries were caused by the victim's failure to follow park rules while riding the slide to keep her legs crossed at the ankles.^[26] The park rule regarding crossing ankles on a water slide is common in the industry, and is one method, along with wearing a wet suit, used to prevent water slide injuries such as the "water ski douche injury" or the "straddle injury."^[27]

[edit] References

v • d • e Amusement park accidents Incidents at Busch parks • Incidents at Cedar Fair parks • Incidents at Disney parks • Incidents at PARC Management parks • Incidents at Six Flags parks • Incidents at Universal parks • Incidents at European parks • Incidents at independent parks