Tuesday, July 21, 2015

The Amusement Park Story

August of last year (2014).....over at the Hassloch amusement park (40 minutes south of Frankfurt), there was a tragic accident where an American kid was killed on a ride at the park.

There's been a lengthy investigation of the episode, with comments by witnesses, and the court finally reach a conclusion that three guys should stand trial.  The two operators of the ride, and their supervisor....are suspected of violating safety regulations.

What the news journalists will say is that if each gets convicted (could be a year or so before this comes to a court appearance).....the max for prison is five years.

The general story to this is the girl reached an open ride and was about to enter.....when the operator simply flipped the switch and started the ride.  The girl fell.....never got up.....then was run over a couple of times before the ride was stopped.

It made it into the local Hessen news on several occasions last year.....even with an interview with the German mother and the American Army father.  Generally, if you are at some amusement park.....you expect a safe atmosphere and the worst that can occur might be heat-related issues or sunburns.  Law suits going on?  I've yet to see any court action or news of such.  I think they might be waiting until this case with the three is settled (might be the end of 2016 before you see this part concluded).

Oddly, I'm kinda interested in this because it's the same park I took my son to on three occasions.  It's a popular place for Americans in the summer time, with a decent offering of rides and it's been kept up over the years.

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