Child walking on monorail beam at Hersheypark

Link to local news

Looks like he made it out unscathed thanks to a brave bystander.

The monorail has been closed recently. The entrance and exit ramps are chained off, but I don't think there's a gate at the platform.

I get that kids get separated from time to time, but.....yeesh.

Watched the video. I guess it’s fairly easy to climb up there? I haven’t been to Hershey in a looong time, so I forgot how things look.

How does a child that small get onto the beam?

initially I was pissed that some lawyer was going to try and make a run here, but then I started thinking about the actual physics.

how?

I suspect, walked up a closed ramp into the station, probably climbing over a barrier of some kind, climbed from the platform onto the beam, and took a stroll from there.

I would 100% have done that sort of thing when I was that age.

well, yes, thanks for the step by step.

Not being familiar with this monorail (What'd I say, Monorail!), how wide is the gap between station platform and beam?

Yeah, totally blaming the parents here. No child does this on their first time "separated from their parents". They know they have a runner.

Here's a URL for the platform. https://commons.wikimedia.o...tation.JPG

Thanks for that -it confirms what I thought watching the video, that the beam is quite wide. You can see how a kid would walk down it without much concern. Of course, something distracts them or a gust of wind comes along and it’s suddenly tragic.

I was thinking about lawyers too, but what harm would you allege in this case? And would you want to be the parent sitting through a deposition?

Yeah, once he’s on the beam it’s quite wide and easy for him to walk on as evidenced by the video as well. I guess where I’m a little lost is how does that small child get from platform to the beam because that seems like a pretty wide gap

A different day, a different monorail, a different youngster walking the beam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoeY9PzosZ4

Still makes me smile.

Just make it an up charge attraction already.

Update here. Not sure whether the details about the young man matter, but near the end there's a little more explanation of how he got onto the rail.

I bet they beefed up the restrictions to access that platform.

How so? Most Every ride in America, besides dark rides or overly complex themed queues, has a similar setup. Open entrance, often open to the world except possibly blocked by a trash can, which leads into standard switchbacks that are often nothing more than steel railings, that aren’t true barriers. Very few rides have a 100% sealable entrance.

If it were me, I'd put a more challenging barrier across the track at the ends of the platform, something like these, that would be difficult to climb over. It could be removed when the ride is in operation and replaced at the end of the day or if the ride is closed.

I don't know the setup for the monorail at Hershey. I am very familiar with the monorail that was at Geauga Lake. If the ride is SBNO and nobody is supervising it, as I assume nobody is, then I think there was likely a greater duty of care than to simply run a chain across the ramp and setting a locked turnstile there that a young person could simply walk/crawl under. You don't have to be very creative to come up with ways to make that narrow entrance way less likely to be accidently breached.

I guess you can make an argument that this incident couldn't have been anticipated before it happened. You can't make that argument now, which is why I'm betting they have taken or are planning for more significant barriers. If they aren't then I'd like to hear what their insurance company has to say about that.

Personally, I don't think one outlying incident in 56 years of the monorail's existence necessitates more than whatever deterrent is already in place.

Some child needs put on PUNISHMENT!
And some parents, too.

Disney had one child die by alligator while wading into a lake on a "beach". Within two weeks they had purchased nearly all the rope and wood in the greater Orlando area to put up deterrents, changed their signage from "no swimming" to "Alligators may be present, No Swimming/Wading" and stepped-up surveillance of those beachfronts. 40+ years of operation. One death. Full and thorough response.

I (my community) get sued fairly regularly for things more ridiculous than this. I guarantee you that if they do nothing more, and a child or anyone else gets up there and gets injured or dies, they are going to pay millions because it is now a known risk, even if it wasn't before.

As for the child, it's clearly coming out now that he is autistic. Blaming that kid is a bit harsh in my opinion. The parents? Yeah, I think they may have some responsibility.

It's never that simple. Speaking from experience, you do the best you can, and sometimes **** happens anyway. I imagine that's true for all parents and children.

Why is there a need to blame anyone? Does anyone, even the "best" parents, keep an eagle eye on their kids every moment of every day?