SHAKOPEE, MN : Valleyfair accident under review on Sunday, December, 3rd 2017

The company that owns Valleyfair, the manufacturer of the Wild Thing roller coaster and outside engineers will work together to find out what caused an accident in which 18 people sustained minor injuries.

The ride's giant brake pads were slowing the ride when the last car broke away and tipped onto its side Sunday afternoon.

The ride ''was well into the brakes, so probably that's going to be significant once we can get under there and see it,'' said Tip Harrison, director of Valleyfair's physical plant.

The rear wheels on the second-to-last car came off the track and broke away from the car, Harrison said. However, he didn't know whether the derailment happened before or after the cars separated. Valleyfair officials inspected parts of the ride Monday but didn't physically touch anything as they waited for officials from the manufacturer to arrive from California.

Harrison said the investigation is expected to take days.

No government agency will investigate. While some states inspect amusement park rides, Minnesota leaves that responsibility to the park owners and their insurance companies.

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, 335 million people took 1.5 billion rides last year. Spokeswoman Beth Robertson said the major parks reported 979 injuries serious enough to require an overnight hospital stay.

On average, the association said there have been two deaths per year over the past 10 years. There have been no deaths from rides at Valleyfair in its 30-year history, Valleyfair officials said.

At Valleyfair, owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair L.P., insurance company inspectors inspect rides once a year before the park opens. Valleyfair also has its own trained inspectors on staff, Harrison said. Rides are taken apart every winter and the integrity of the metal components are tested, he said. There are also monthly, weekly and daily checklists that staff inspectors go through, he said.

The ride's giant brake pads were slowing the ride when the last car broke away and tipped onto its side Sunday afternoon.

The ride ''was well into the brakes, so probably that's going to be significant once we can get under there and see it,'' said Tip Harrison, director of Valleyfair's physical plant.

The rear wheels on the second-to-last car came off the track and broke away from the car, Harrison said. However, he didn't know whether the derailment happened before or after the cars separated. Valleyfair officials inspected parts of the ride Monday but didn't physically touch anything as they waited for officials from the manufacturer to arrive from California.

Harrison said the investigation is expected to take days.

No government agency will investigate. While some states inspect amusement park rides, Minnesota leaves that responsibility to the park owners and their insurance companies.

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, 335 million people took 1.5 billion rides last year. Spokeswoman Beth Robertson said the major parks reported 979 injuries serious enough to require an overnight hospital stay.

On average, the association said there have been two deaths per year over the past 10 years. There have been no deaths from rides at Valleyfair in its 30-year history, Valleyfair officials said.

At Valleyfair, owned by Ohio-based Cedar Fair L.P., insurance company inspectors inspect rides once a year before the park opens. Valleyfair also has its own trained inspectors on staff, Harrison said. Rides are taken apart every winter and the integrity of the metal components are tested, he said. There are also monthly, weekly and daily checklists that staff inspectors go through, he said.

Source :
Valleyfair accident under review