Worker hit by new roller coaster at Knoebels
Posted
A Knoebels Amusement Resort employee who was struck by the park’s new roller coaster while it was being tested Thursday morning was taken to an area hospital for evaluation of his injuries. The staff member has cuts on the back of his head and hand after the impact with an Impulse car. He was conscious, alert and talking as he was transported to a local hospital, said Stacy Ososkie, the park’s public relations director.
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"Ososkie said it is not yet known why the employee was in that area in the first place, because many of the park staff wear "a lot of different hats". "
Anyone?....
I tihnk the implication is that an employee could be doing grounds work, or puring concrete for the ride entrance (OK, more like placing gravel), or painting a sign for the ride entrance, or any number of things. Knoebels has many employees who do "whatever is needed" on any particular day - so I think the point was that it's hard to say *why* the employee was there. Under any circumstances, the ride shouldn't be running if someone is "close" to the tracks.
You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)
At this point it sounds like they didn't even have fences yet.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
That's what I was thinking, Jeff. I would think it would be a really good idea to build the fences around the low zone areas before testing a new coaster. Isn't that what other parks do? Seems like common sense to me.
-Travis
www.youtube.com/TSVisits
I'm not sure. I mean, in my mind, the fencing is literally an essential part of the machine. You can go maybe without the air gates on the platform, but not fencing. That's just my non-professional opinion. You can see in the first test POV video that there are no fences.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
It's crazy that they ran that without securing the ride area. Even if the fencing company couldn't come until a later date, put some posts in the ground and get that temporary roll out orange stuff from Grainger. It's cheaper than an OSHA fine.
Hi
Heck, blow an air horn when you begin testing it so that anyone in the low zones will know what is about to happen. Get on a bull horn and holler, "Stand clear of the ride area. We are about to release a ride vehicle for testing."
As unfortunate as an accent like this is, it was 100% preventable.
-Travis
www.youtube.com/TSVisits
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