The Interpreter Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Halfway through the roller coaster ride, Alex Paradis's safety harness came off. The 12-year-old was left dangling, completely and utterly helpless, 35 metres above ground, halfway through his trip on the Boomerang, one of La Ronde's oldest thrill rides. "I was scared," Alex said in a telephone interview this week. "I didn't know what was going to happen. I tried to lower (the harness). And then I closed my eyes." Alex and his friend Marc Boudrias, also 12, boarded the coaster just after 4 p.m. during a trip to the amusement park on July 6. Despite the malfunction, they made it back to solid ground with no injuries -just a terrifying memory.... http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/todays-paper/Scary+ride+ends+well+Ronde+Boomerang/3307399/story.html And before someone says "that's just what the rider said, yeah right" go read the article...see what the park says, how the employees reacted, how the parents reacted, if there were others affected...and then come back and comment if you wish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 release switch ... prematurely engaged. How exactly does that happen mid-ride? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerRider Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Diamondback.....no seatbelts......what if? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windshawne Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Diamondback.....no seatbelts......what if? That same thought crossed my mind. Everyone poo poos that as it has two "electronic" restraint systems-I am not a fan of electronics as they can fail. My last ride on demon has been discounted on here-but I swear the restraint didn't lock-and there was no back up seat belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketingExpress Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 "I told the lady what happened after the ride," Alex said. "All she said was that she was sorry and that that wasn't supposed to happen." The ride was fully inspected and adjustments to the release mechanism were made before reopening the ride, the statement said.The ride was closed until the next day. It's all about how you read the comment from the ride operator. I can read it two completely different ways. On one hand as a ride op apologizing over and over, truly apologetic and saying that isn't suppossed to happen. Or there's the alternative that the ride operator was just blowing the kid off and not believing what he said. I understand a simple "We're sorry" doesn't seem to cut it when someone almost loses their life because of a ride malfunction, but given the fact the park did shut down the ride and inspect it before reopening the next day makes it seem that someone took the comments at their word and shut down the ride. There's obviously no type of compensation that can make up for this type of incident, but the park did try to compensate them with 4 day vouchures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStroem Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 We were on that ride the day before. As to the statement, what is a ride op supposed to tell a 12 year old boy? Aren't the park employees trained to basically shut up when it comes to ride issues? I think any further comment by the op, would have been above her pay grade. The story doesn't say if she contacted her ride manager, but I believe that she took the issue seriously enough to call maintenance and have the ride shut down the rest of the day. I am glad that everyone was OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 and this is what my biggest fear on a ride is.... and this is why I am all for a back up seat belt on the rides... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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