7yr old girl dies on ride at playland park

Came across this story this morning. It happend last night on a ride called mind scrambler.

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/24428.htm

http://www.wnbc.com/news/3336832/detail.html

"...is described as the nation's only government owned and operated amusement park."

Even the government can't seem to control the safety procedures of their own ride-ops & the rides themselves.

So what exactly is the Mind Scrambler? Playlands website doesn't mention what it is other than an indoor ride with music and lights.

I was thinking it was an indoor Scrambler but the news article makes it sound like an Octopus.

Simply heartbreaking. My prayers go for her friends and family.

It's an indoor scrambler.

Awww. Sad news. I hate hearing about all these accidents this year. It seems as though not one weekend has gone by here lately without one.

2004 is giving me a very empty feeling.

Prayers to the family and workers affected by this unfortunate incident.

What is going on this year?

According to this article the girl might have been kneeling on the ride.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-23-girl-falls_x.htm

They're pretty sure that she got up on her knees and tried to turn around, something to that effect. My prayers go out to the family, but honestly, you don't let a 7 year old girl go on a ride like that alone. I think it was incredibly foolish of the parent(s) to do so. If the kid was older I would be more sympathetic.

My prayers are with her family :(

Was there no one observing the ride while it was in motion? Those e-stop buttons are there for a reason.

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Joecoasterguy said:
My prayers go out to the family, but honestly, you don't let a 7 year old girl go on a ride like that alone. I think it was incredibly foolish of the parent(s) to do so. If the kid was older I would be more sympathetic.

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A 7 year old on a Scrambler alone? I see nothing wrong with this. She is old enough to keep herself upright and most children that age are tall enough to ride a Scrambler alone.

I agree with you, Chitown, but this is a good reminder to those people who bring kids to parks to talk to them about the importance of sitting properly on rides. I bring my 10 year old little sis (small for 10, about 52" and very slim) to parks a lot, and she ocassionally gets silly on rides. Most recently, she was letting herself slump sideways in her seat on a Musik Express, and not holding on. I was riding with her and immediately had her sit properly. I told her to not do that again unless she wanted to risk getting killed, but kids always think we're exaggerating stuff. I'm definitely going to show her this story so she doesn't fool around next time she's riding alone.

Number one, you can't stop a Scrambler on a dime. At the speed that it operates there is a limit to the brakng force that can be applied without stripping the gears out. Then you have no brakes at all.

Number two, if she did indeed get up on her knees on the seat, the motion of the ride would have tossed her out in probably less than a revolution. If the operator saw her get into this position, it was already too late.

I've said this before,the industry needs to take a serious look at who the let on rides when it comes to children. They are a lot bigger now than they were two or three generations ago, when many of these minium height specs were implimented.

Just want to re-iterate;

What was a 7-year-old doing on a Scrambler by herself without parents? Watch your kids people and this kind of thing won't happen - oh wait, that requires being responsible ...

Maybe I am jaded with my daughter obeying the rules on rides. I have watched my daughter ride a Scrambler by herself without a problem.

Don't jump to conclusions on the irresponsibility spiel.

I operated a Scrambler last season so I know how long it takes for it to come to a complete stop. Observing the ride in motion and standing with your hand by the e-stop button are only preventive measures that are in place should we see anything unsafe, my point being that we are to do everything in our power to prevent an accident.

I used to cringe at the sight of children on the ride by themselves with the ride going full speed. Those of us who have ridden a Scrambler know that there is some serious power in it. I've stopped a many of rides because kids like to slouch over in their seats. I was afraid that if I didn't that they would be slung from the ride despite them having on a seatbelt. It's all a part of the code of safe practices.

Well, if that is a problem on Scramblers, they need to raise the minimum height requirement for children to ride alone.

The girl's name leads me to believe that she is a Haitian immigrant or the child of Haitian immigrants, and this might affect the "parent supervision" aspect, as maybe the parents were unaware of their need to supervise her more carefully. But a sad story regardless, my condolences.