[Music]
on the 8th of july 2011 a guest riding
the ride of steel roller coaster at
darion lake amusement park in the state
of new york was ejected from the ride as
it crested a hill
the man hit his head on the roller
coaster train and fell to the ground
below dying from his injuries
in the investigation which followed it
was found that he should never have been
allowed on the ride in the first place
but that his decision to board the
roller coaster that would ultimately
kill him had not once been challenged by
any member of staff working at the park
the history of the amusement park at
darion lake goes all the way back to
1955.
that was the year that a large man-made
lake was opened to the public near the
town of darion in new york state
visitors could pay 50 cents to spend a
day by the water picnicking and swimming
it was a popular spot and as the years
went by more and more attractions were
introduced
in the 1960s you could go boating on the
lake fish for trout in a specially
stocked pond ride ponies beside the
water or hire out a camping spot and
spend the night
in the 1970s a series of small rides and
attractions were added including a
petting zoo several water slides and a
miniature golf course
by the 1980s the humble little swimming
spot had grown into a fully fledged
amusement park
the first major roller coaster opened in
1982 along with multiple other flat
rides
further expansion in the 1990s saw an
on-site hotel
a dedicated water park and a massive
concert venue added to the park's
offerings
by 2011 darion lake was firmly
established as a theme park destination
superman ride of steel
later renamed to simply the ride of
steel was just one of several large
roller coasters in the park
it was opened to the public in 1999 and
was tall enough to qualify as a hyper
coaster
it featured not just a 205 foot or 65
meter drop but several airtime hills and
two helixes subjecting riders to some
incredible but thrilling g-forces during
its two-minute run time
from the day it opened the ride was
popular welcoming thousands of riders
each day
most of these visitors had an excellent
time
although there was one serious incident
in the very first year of operations
on the 16th of may 1999 the second day
that the ride had been opened to the
public
a guest was ejected from the roller
coaster as it crested one of the smaller
hills
he survived the fall but suffered
multiple hernias that would cause him
pain and limit his mobility for the rest
of his life
it was found that because of the size of
the guest the lap bar had locked in the
wrong position
and had thus failed to keep him secure
throughout the ride
darion lake which at the time was owned
by six flags was ordered to pay the
injured guests 3.95 million dollars and
subsequently made alterations to the
restraint system of the ride including
the addition of a supplementary seat
belt
for the decade following this incident
the coaster operated smoothly and
without issue
it wasn't until 2011 that the ride of
steel would again be in the spotlight
in july 2011 sergeant james hackema
visited the park with several members of
his family
sergeant hackima was a veteran of the
iraq war and in the course of his
service had been seriously injured by an
improvised explosive device
the explosion had caused him to lose the
majority of both of his legs and had put
him into a coma for two months after
which he'd had to re-learn many basic
skills including speaking and eating
despite this traumatic life change
sergeant hakumar remained incredibly
positive
having survived his ordeal he even
offered advice to people in a similar
position
hang on
you can make it it can be hard but you
get out of it what you put in
certainly sergeant hakumar put in a lot
even after his injury he lived an active
lifestyle
he went to watch live sporting events
ate out with his friends and family and
went on bicycle rides with a specially
adapted bike
despite his positive outlook and
extraordinary tenacity though he did
note that it was difficult to adjust to
his new life
visiting darian lake amusement park
therefore might well have been a welcome
return to normality
he was keen to share a vacation with his
loved ones and ride as many rides as he
could
sergeant hackema his sister his two
young children and a college-age nephew
checked into the darion lake hotel and
made their way into the park at around 2
30 p.m that day
one of sergeant hakuma's first stops was
a guest information booth where he asked
park's staff which rides he could safely
enjoy
they offered him a pamphlet containing
detailed information about ride safety
for guests with disabilities but he
declined to take it
noting that he already had one the park
staff then advised him on the boarding
procedure for wheelchair users
in the case of most rides he would be
asked to enter via the exit where he
could then be assisted safely onto the
ride
one of the first rides on the itinerary
for the day was the ride of steel
as he had been instructed sergeant
hakumar accompanied by his nephew
entered through the exit of the ride
this allowed him easy access to the
boarding area but also meant that he did
not have his height checked by a ride
attendant to make sure he was tall
enough to ride
as it happened because of the loss of
his legs sergeant hakumar was actually
too short for the ride of steel
nonetheless he went through to the
boarding area where he declined
assistance from the ride staff instead
allowing his nephew to help him from his
wheelchair onto the right
once both were seated at the very front
of the train the ride began a long climb
was followed by a plunging descent
several twists and turns and a series of
camelback hills
as the train passed over the crest of
each of these hills riders would
experience a brief moment of
weightlessness
it was during one of these moments that
sergeant hakama was ejected from the
train
witnesses report that on the crest of
one hill the hat he was wearing almost
flew from his head
as he instinctively reached up to secure
it he was thrown from the car altogether
and fell to the ground below
although the alarm was raised within
minutes and help was quickly on scene
his injuries were not
survivable in the aftermath of the
incident the ride was closed and an
investigation was launched
mechanical defects with the ride or any
of its trains were quickly ruled out and
it was determined that sergeant
hackemert simply should not have been
allowed to board
signs at the entrance and exit of the
ride area noted among many other rules
that all riders were required to have
two legs
it is conceivable that sergeant hackima
might have missed this stipulation
but why had none of the ride attendants
challenged him as he boarded the roller
coaster
sergeant hakumar owned prosthetic limbs
but was not wearing them when he boarded
the ride
meaning that the fact that he did not
have both legs was readily apparent
indeed several ride operators noticed
this but took no action
the report into the accident explored
why this might have been the case
it was noted that ride attendants had
received training that covered how to
determine when a person with a
disability could or could not safely
ride and how to approach a guest when
they were not able to ride because of a
disability
all attendants on duty were fit and well
could communicate clearly and had passed
all necessary assessments and training
courses
ultimately it became apparent that
although the attendants had passed their
training not enough had been done to
reinforce it
over time ride attendants had either
forgotten what they had learned or had
become complacent about certain
procedures failing to realize how
important they were
assisting a guest who was a double
amputee was not something they did every
day and so their recollection and
understanding of the correct thing to do
was fuzzy at best an issue compounded by
the fact that they were all relatively
young
the oldest ride operator was 21 an age
at which they might have found it
difficult to confront and evict an older
disabled war veteran who was confident
about riding especially when their
memory of the relevant rules had not
been refreshed in months or years
the ride remained closed until later in
the month by the time it reopened
several changes had been made
signage had been made clearer and staff
had been retrained additionally a new
position had been created at the park
darion lake now employed an auditor
whose job it was to check that ride
operators and other staff had not only
completed their training but that they
actually remembered all of the safety
critical parts of it
sergeant hakema's family took legal
action against the park ultimately
settling for an undisclosed sum that
would be sufficient to provide security
for his two children throughout their
lives
while devastated by the loss of the man
they loved family members chose to as
much as possible celebrate his life
rather than mourn his death
they noted that when the accident took
place he had been doing what he wanted
to do
the trip to darien lake had been a happy
event for him a return to carefree
happiness after many years of difficult
recovery
speaking of the incident his sister said
that minute he was on that ride
he probably felt the happiest and most
normal he's felt in three and a half
years
wow