BUFFALO, N.Y. -An investigation is continuing into the death of an Iraq war veteran and double amputee who fell from a 208-foot-tall roller coaster in upstate New York.
Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, who had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb, was ejected Friday from the Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester.
The ride remained closed Sunday and the park's website said it will not operate again until authorities complete their investigation.
Amusement park industry consultant Dennis Speigel said two things should be considered when determining whether someone should be allowed on a ride.
One is rider responsibility and then there is operator responsibility, and those two issues have to homogenize, Speigel said Sunday. This just seems to me that it was a bad decision on both parts.
Hackemer's relatives have said they don't hold the park responsible for his death.
It's nobody's fault. It was an accident. James thought it wasn't an issue, Jody Hackemer said over the weekend of her brother's disability.
She said her brother had had recently returned from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was fitted with a new set of prosthetic legs. Jody Hackemer said she did not believe he was wearing the prostheses on the roller coaster.
Rules posted on the park's website for the Ride of Steel say guests with certain body proportions may not be able to ride it, but it doesn't give specifics. The rules specifically bar people without both legs from riding at least two other coasters in the park, the Motocoaster and the Predator.
Although an investigation of the accident is incomplete, Speigel, who is not involved in the probe, wondered whether Hackemer's military service played a role in the decision to allow the ride.
Rest of article: http://www.aolnews.com/story/sheriff-theme-park-policy-ignored-in/1706226/
In your opinion, do you think he should have been allowed on this ride?
Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, who had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb, was ejected Friday from the Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester.
The ride remained closed Sunday and the park's website said it will not operate again until authorities complete their investigation.
Amusement park industry consultant Dennis Speigel said two things should be considered when determining whether someone should be allowed on a ride.
One is rider responsibility and then there is operator responsibility, and those two issues have to homogenize, Speigel said Sunday. This just seems to me that it was a bad decision on both parts.
Hackemer's relatives have said they don't hold the park responsible for his death.
It's nobody's fault. It was an accident. James thought it wasn't an issue, Jody Hackemer said over the weekend of her brother's disability.
She said her brother had had recently returned from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was fitted with a new set of prosthetic legs. Jody Hackemer said she did not believe he was wearing the prostheses on the roller coaster.
Rules posted on the park's website for the Ride of Steel say guests with certain body proportions may not be able to ride it, but it doesn't give specifics. The rules specifically bar people without both legs from riding at least two other coasters in the park, the Motocoaster and the Predator.
Although an investigation of the accident is incomplete, Speigel, who is not involved in the probe, wondered whether Hackemer's military service played a role in the decision to allow the ride.
Rest of article: http://www.aolnews.com/story/sheriff-theme-park-policy-ignored-in/1706226/
In your opinion, do you think he should have been allowed on this ride?
