Great America’s Roller Coaster Invertigo Leaves 2 Dozen Stranded
What was supposed to be a fun day at one of California’s most popular amusement parks called Great America turned out to be a day to forget for 24 unlucky thrill riders, according to the mercurynews.com website. Now park and state investigators are trying to determine what the cause of the major malfunction was; which left people stuck more than 80 feet up in the air, not to mention in weather that reached 95 degrees in temperature. This marks the third time since 2000 that the ride has had problems. Inspectors from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health were on the scene coming up with a method of dismantling the portion of the roller coaster where the riders became stuck. They estimate that at least 2 months will be needed to analyze the cars and the actual track that they ride on. Thankfully no serious injuries were reported, although it did take rescue workers more than 4 hours to take the riders down one by one utilizing a fire truck ladder. The efforts were complicated because some riders were facing up and the rest were facing down towards the ground.
Jim Stellmack, spokesman for Great America said, We’ve never had an incident where we had to evacuate the ride, where people were in a precarious position.”
California Legislature enacted a law in 2001 mandating that Cal/OSHA take over the inspections at amusement park rides.
Spokeswoman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Colleen Mangone stated that the United States has approximately 400 amusement parks. She added that the chance of serious injury while visiting one of these parks is 1 in 9 million.
Spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Ericka Monterroza, stated that each year the big roller coasters go through four separate inspections by Cal/OSHA. One being “an operational inspection,” second inspection is an audit of maintenance records, third is an actual inspection, and finally a surprise visit to determine if ride operators are doing their job.
Amusement parks should be a place where we can feel confident that the rides are safe and properly maintained and inspected. However, there are incidents where roller coasters have not been adequately monitored. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured at one of these amusement parks in Southern California, contact the experienced and knowledgeable San Fernando Valley personal injury attorneys at the Mandell Law Firm. They have been representing victims of personal injury for many years and can help you as well. Please call 1-818-886-6600 today to schedule your free consultation.
