News Guest dies, found unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers

[DCBaker]

WESH 2 News reports there will be another news conference with the family and their attorney tomorrow morning to give an update on the investigation after hearing from additional witnesses and other riders who have also reported being injured on the ride.

 

[celluloid]

Can you give some examples of these nuances that make them different?

I don't want to go into specifics at the moment and with custom alterations everything has to be questioned for a fair investigation, but the ride vehicles were custom designed for the client with variations that no other model yet has, and a rider accessibility was something specific to this model.

Vests were designed as an option with this ride model and were going to be a part of one seat per train soon, now they are possibly going to be a part of every single seat going forward if that is one of the alterations made.

 

[celluloid]

WESH 2 News reports there will be another news conference with the family and their attorney tomorrow morning to give an update on the investigation after hearing from additional witnesses and other riders who have also reported being injured on the ride.

I heard this was planned for Wednesday. Can I see where you saw it was schedueled for Tuesday?

 

[flynnibus]

The fact that this coaster is still closed should be very telling you. Even after the investigation from state and company said ride was operating as normal.

Let's be clear - the 'investigation' is not done. They've just made statements about an inspection immediately following the accident.

 

[celluloid]

Let's be clear - the 'investigation' is not done. They've just made statements about an inspection immediately following the accident.

That is an important thing to be clear on and the point. Everything was working as it should have by design, but the design with operation still left a man dead and no one knows for sure yet why publicly. This is why Ben Crump, and his clients have a strong case and angle for transparency now and going forward. You say immediately, but not sure if you are aware more official statements from company came out in the days following incident after initial state and company investigation.

Typically, an investigation of the state and park of the ride system would be enough to have it open by now if it was rider fault/natural causes. This is why this is such a heavy situation, and the coaster is still standing but not operating near two weeks later.

 

[DCBaker]

I heard this was planned for Wednesday. Can I see where you saw it was schedueled for Tuesday?

It was one of the lead stories on the 10pm newscast.

 

[mkt]

That is an important thing to be clear on and the point. Everything was working as it should have by design, but the design with operation still left a man dead and no one knows for sure yet why publicly. This is why Ben Crump, and his clients have a strong case and angle for transparency now and going forward. You say immediately, but not sure if you are aware more official statements from company came out in the days following incident after initial state and company investigation.

Typically, an investigation of the state and park of the ride system would be enough to have it open by now if it was rider fault/natural causes. This is why this is such a heavy situation, and the coaster is still standing but not operating near two weeks later.

In a US-only case, if it looked like rider fault or a medical event, the ride would likely be open again within days once the state, risk managers, and insurers signed off.

Here you’ve got Universal under US/Florida jurisdiction, tort law, and discovery rules, and Mack under German/EU product liability law, where the manufacturer is automatically on the hook if a design flaw is found. That makes both sides move slower and more carefully, because anything they say or release can be used in court on either side of the Atlantic.

So while two weeks feels long, between the optics of a fatality on a brand-new ride in a brand-new park, the differences between U.S. and German/EU legal systems, and Ben Crump working the press to win in the court of public opinion before even filing suit - it adds up.

Also remember, it'll be around Christmas when the autopsy is released.

 

[celluloid]

Here you’ve got Universal under US/Florida jurisdiction, tort law, and discovery rules, and Mack under German/EU product liability law, where the manufacturer is automatically on the hook if a design flaw is found. That makes both sides move slower and more carefully, because anything they say or release can be used in court on either side of the Atlantic.

Indeed and especially this.

It is likely no coincidence that Sandi Streets' lawsuit filed was already settled in just about record time to any seen before, thus including any disclosure as part of her settlement so she cannot be a part of Ben Crump's witnesses he is bringing to press conference now or later.

 

[Tom Morrow]

You are unnecessarily aggressive if you think that becoming safer after this death means the ride will be ruined. If it prevents this kind of death from ever happening while remaining accessible for as many to ride as it safely can because they don't have an exact answer of what happened. Why is it ruined?

I don't think I'm being aggressive, but I really don't want awful shoulder harnesses to be added to all these modern coasters as a knee-jerk reaction. Shoulder harnesses suck, vests are not much better. I have ridden many coasters, and the only coaster with a vest that was completely comfortable was Siren's Curse at Cedar Point. Even then, that is a coaster that isn't aggressively throwing you around in the way that something like Velocicoaster and Steel Vengeance do.

 

[celluloid]

I don't think I'm being aggressive, but I really don't want awful shoulder harnesses to be added to all these modern coasters as a knee-jerk reaction. Shoulder harnesses suck, vests are not much better. I have ridden many coasters, and the only coaster with a vest that was completely comfortable was Siren's Curse at Cedar Point. Even then, that is a coaster that isn't aggressively throwing you around in the way that something like Velocicoaster and Steel Vengeance do.

I get that it is unfortunate in a bummer sense for some freedom feeling during a thrill, but what information do you have that makes you so sure it would be a knee-jerk reaction to add vests to this attraction that is already a recommendation and option in the model for guests with certain builds?