RSS Feeds
 |
|
|||||||||||||
News » Metro
Article rated a 0
by 0
users |
~ADVERTISING~
Ride suit begins
By JEFF REINITZ, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- One second John Netty II watched as his 7-year-old daughter prepared to slide down a giant inflatable amusement ride.
The next second, the ride buckled, and she disappeared.
Netty told the court how his daughter, Alyson, toppled over the side and plummeted some 25 feet to the cement below as the trial started in the family's lawsuit against the ride's operator.
"I was horrified. I could see her, and then I couldn't see her ... I knew I had to get to my daughter," Netty testified.
The father homed in on Alyson's voice and found her sitting on the ground, holding her broken wrist.
The family said Midwest Amusements of Minnesota is responsible for the accident, which happened on the midway during the 2002 National Cattle Congress fair.
Represented by attorney David Dutton, the family said the operator failed to follow safety instructions for the ride, which was shaped like the sinking Titanic ocean liner. The operator allowed six people on board when the maximum was supposed to be four, he said.
Midwest Amusements said the inflatable slide passed a state inspection before the fair, and they had no reason to suspect it would collapse.
The trial was postponed Tuesday morning because of a family emergency and is scheduled to restart Monday.
The NCC fair was the 14th time a slide with the Titanic design has tipped over, Dutton said.
And that exact same ride had started to tip only hours earlier, and the attendant --- a person hired right off the street --- had grabbed the ride to correct it, Dutton said.
"It is very high and a very unstable situation," he said.
Midwest Amusements didn't get a copy of the ride's manual and didn't know how to properly set it up, Dutton said.
He said the instruction book warned of "catastrophe" if it was overloaded. The warning was accompanied by an illustration of people falling from the ride, he said.
Defense attorney Theresa Davis said Midwest had used the Titanic for two years without any problems. Rug burns were the most serious injuries rider experienced before the 2002 NCC fair, she said.
Workers with the Iowa Division of Labor inspected the slide and approved it, Davis said.
"This was an accident that happened," she said.
NCC had been listed as a defendant in the suit, but it was released from the matter in January.
The next second, the ride buckled, and she disappeared.
Netty told the court how his daughter, Alyson, toppled over the side and plummeted some 25 feet to the cement below as the trial started in the family's lawsuit against the ride's operator.
"I was horrified. I could see her, and then I couldn't see her ... I knew I had to get to my daughter," Netty testified.
The father homed in on Alyson's voice and found her sitting on the ground, holding her broken wrist.
The family said Midwest Amusements of Minnesota is responsible for the accident, which happened on the midway during the 2002 National Cattle Congress fair.
Represented by attorney David Dutton, the family said the operator failed to follow safety instructions for the ride, which was shaped like the sinking Titanic ocean liner. The operator allowed six people on board when the maximum was supposed to be four, he said.
Midwest Amusements said the inflatable slide passed a state inspection before the fair, and they had no reason to suspect it would collapse.
The trial was postponed Tuesday morning because of a family emergency and is scheduled to restart Monday.
The NCC fair was the 14th time a slide with the Titanic design has tipped over, Dutton said.
And that exact same ride had started to tip only hours earlier, and the attendant --- a person hired right off the street --- had grabbed the ride to correct it, Dutton said.
"It is very high and a very unstable situation," he said.
Midwest Amusements didn't get a copy of the ride's manual and didn't know how to properly set it up, Dutton said.
He said the instruction book warned of "catastrophe" if it was overloaded. The warning was accompanied by an illustration of people falling from the ride, he said.
Defense attorney Theresa Davis said Midwest had used the Titanic for two years without any problems. Rug burns were the most serious injuries rider experienced before the 2002 NCC fair, she said.
Workers with the Iowa Division of Labor inspected the slide and approved it, Davis said.
"This was an accident that happened," she said.
NCC had been listed as a defendant in the suit, but it was released from the matter in January.
 |
More Stories from News » Metro
Feather pen sculpture eyed for Lincoln ParkFilm director stumps for Howard Dean in WaterlooShag's closing its doorsBlack Iowans' health a concernRide suit begins
Due to the amount of spam and negative comments received, the Courier implement a registered-user system for participation in the comment portion of our site. In doing so, the Courier reserves the right to ban any user(s) at any time without notice if we feel they are not following the terms of agreement.
DISCLAIMER: The Courier provides our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. For a more in-depth explanation of our policy, please see our Rules of the Road. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
~ADVERTISEMENT~
NEWS |
SPORTS |
COMMUNITY |
BUSINESS |
ENTERTAINMENT |
FEATURES |
OPINIONS |
OBITUARIES |
CLASSIFIEDS |
PRIVACY POLICY |
CONTACT US |
CARRIER PAGES
|