Published: Aug 3, 2005 RYE, N.Y. (AP) - A 7-year-old boy was found dead in the water of a boat ride at an historic amusement park Wednesday after he didn't emerge from a tunnel, authorities said.
Posted on 08/03/2005 9:14:23 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
Seven-Year-Old Boy Dies on Water Ride at N.Y. Amusement Park
Published: Aug 3, 2005 RYE, N.Y. (AP) - A 7-year-old boy was found dead in the water of a boat ride at an historic amusement park Wednesday after he didn't emerge from a tunnel, authorities said.
The boy apparently climbed out the boat and got caught in the conveyor belt of the Ye Old Mill, a boat-in-the-dark ride, at Playland in Westchester.
The ride that killed the Norwalk, Conn., boy, whose name was not released, is "one of our most benign," County Executive Andrew Spano said at a news conference.
The ride consists of 14 boats propelled into a tunnel. The water is 2 1/2 feet deep at its deepest, and instructions tell riders to stay seated and keep their hands inside their boats.
The boy, who was at the park with his mother, got on the ride by himself after passing the 42-inch height requirement for riding alone and was the only person in his boat, Spano said.
The ride and nearby attractions were shut down after the child's death. Spano said the state Department of Labor would investigate the death, which was the park's second in 15 months.
In May 2004, a 7-year-old girl was killed on the park's spinning Mind Scrambler ride. Investigators concluded that the girl wriggled free of a restraining bar, knelt on the ride's seat and fell soon after it started.
Playland, a National Historic Landmark, opened in 1928. The amusement park scenes in the movie "Big," starring Tom Hanks, were filmed there.
The park has more than 50 rides, a pool and a beach on Long Island Sound, and receives more than a million visitors a year.
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On the Net:
Playland: http://www.ryeplayland.org/
AP-ES-08-03-05 2239EDT
Wow. His poor mother and what ache she is feeling. Geez...
How sad. Apparently the ride is just a slow boat ride through a dark tunnel and should be completely safe. For some reason he must have decided to climb out of the boat into the shallow water. I would think someone would have heard something if he had fallen in accidentally.
Even though he met the height requirement, I think 7 is too young to go on a ride alone, even a benign one like that. Especially in the dark. In a boat all by himself. You never know what young kids are gonna do.
A seven year old minor child, not accompanied by a parent or guardian, alone in a boat…
Betcha there's gonna be NEW SIGNS up all OVER the place in the morning. Too bad it had to happen THIS way.
Civil suit: kid was let on the ride alone.
Countersuit: parent wasn't actively watching her kid.
No case.
I've done it.
I don't like roller coasters, and my daughters do. There's also 2 of them, and one of me.
However, they know to follow the rules, and they are not scared of rides.
I wouldn't let my almost 11 year old son ride on a roller coaster by himself because he gets scared of rides.
Every kid is different.
Sensible comment.
I was just on a relatively small roller coaster. I felt thoroughly and expertly beaten up. Not fun.
This is terribly sad for me. It's a sad to hear of this happening at a place so full of good memories and it's a tragic loss of an innocent life.
"Ye Old Mill"
"Flying Witch"
"Dragon Coaster" - I was too young and small to ride on this the first few years, so I had to have started going around the age of 5 or 6.
Is/was this place related to the ?now closed? Rockaway Playland? What is located at Rockaway Playland now?
Not related.
Rockaways' Playland
Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY
Date Opened: 1901
Date Closed: 1986 (?)
Location: 185 Beach 97th Street
Remains: None
The past
Originally known as Thompson's Amusement Park, Rockaways' Playland was owned by LeMarcus Thompson, until his death. Thompson was the inventor of the modern roller coaster which debuted in nearby Coney Island.
Rollercoasters
Several Roller Coasters have operated at Rockaways' Playland over the years. The only one I have information about is the "Atom Smasher" also known as the "Coaster" and "Cinerama Coaster". This was the same ride used in the film "This is Cinerama" in the 1950s. Designed by Vernon Keenan and National Amusement Devices (NAD) in 1938, the coaster was about 3000 feet long and 70 feet high.
Wasn't this on a recent episode of CSI?
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