Man Dies After 50-foot Fall From Theme Park Ride
On Saturday, a man was seen dangling from an amusement park ride before falling 50 feet to the ground. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition; however, multiple outlets reported Monday that the man died.
Witness cellphone footage obtained by Fox 13 News shows the man hanging from the safety bar of the Lagoon Amusement Park's Sky Ride, located in Farmington, Utah. The witness, Lucy Grace Astilla, told the news station that she believed the man was a "professional."
"I am thinking this is a professional gymnast or a stunt," she said.
Sadly, the man was not a professional stunt artist. According to the station, the man fell nearly 50 feet to the ground just as soon as Astilla stopped recording.
It has not been made clear why the man wasn't seated.
According to Local News 8, an ABC-affiliate station, police confirmed the man was riding the Sky Ride alone; however, he was visiting the park with family members. After he fell from the ride, he was flown to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake in critical condition. Police told the outlet they were notified of the man's passing Monday morning.
"We are saddened by an unfortunate incident that occurred on the sky ride yesterday," Lagoon Amusement Park said in an official Facebook post on Sunday. "Our hearts go out to the family and others associated."
As of Monday, police said the incident, which was unintentional, was still under investigation. However, police also said the initial investigation shows that the ride wasn't malfunctioning during the time of the fall.
Newsweek has reached out to Farmington Police for additional information.
In an interview with Fox 13, Lagoon spokesperson Adam Leishman said of the ride: "The sky ride has operated without incident since 1974. Every ride has safety information printed and either recorded or said verbally. And that information is for the safety of the guests."
A Facebook commenter who claimed her teenage daughter saw the man fall encouraged those who work at the amusement park to provide counseling to all of its employees who might be traumatized by the event. The park responded, confirming that it was in the process of doing just that.
Those behind the park's Facebook account also shared additional counseling resources with those whose family members were in need of counseling after witnessing Saturday's events.
Dr. Douglas Goldsmith, child psychologist, told Fox 13 that over the coming week, many children and adults who witnessed the event might have trouble sleeping and find it difficult to "erase that image in their head."
He also encourages parents to remind their children that the event wasn't the fault of the ride or the park.
