Girl dies in fall from Ferris Wheel at Morey's Piers

[ECG]

An 11-year girl fell 100 feet to her death from the Ferris Wheel at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, N.J. during a school trip. A police investigation is underway to determine what happened, but the park claims no liability as there was no issue with the ride. There are no seat belts on the ride & the door was locked as safety laws require. There was also no problem with the bars that encase the lower portion of the gondola & it is presumed that the girl must have been standing on seat when she lost her balance as it is not possible to fall out off the ride while standing on the floor of the gondola. The park closed for the day immediately following the accident, but will open again in the morning with normal operations.

Here is a link to the news story, a video report & photos of the scene.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=8169083

 

[madhjsp]

Terrible news. It's always sad to hear about theme park guests dying, but especially so when they're children.

 

[Coasterfreck]

This is sad news. But even more sad when it is a child.

 

[Martyn B]

Souns similar to the Hydro incident, apart from didn't the girl actually jump, then her brother followed suit?

 

[Gangster4Life]

Reminds me of what happened to that asian girl in Gulliver's World in 2002.

So sad.

R.I.P

 

[mouse]

Must have been traumatic for the other children.
(she was on a school trip)

 

[Thekingin64]

This would have been especcialy bad if she was with her friends on the ride when she fell. :cry:

RIP :cry: :cry:

 

[Inverse]

^ I imagine she was. Sad, yes, but there will always be people looking to twist the rules of a ride and put themselves in to danger doing so.

 

[Gavin]

It's always good to see that people spend time reading the articles before giving us their expert opinions.

Morey said it appears Jones was alone in one of the car's passenger gondolas

Yeah, it's crap that a kid died, but since there was absolutely nothing wrong with the ride it's a bit harder to feel all that much sympathy when it's pretty clear she must have been pissing about.

 

[dropthefloor93]

I agree it is hard to feel as much sympathy when you know she was acting stupid. I mean 11 year old's do not have all the common sense in the world, but standing up on a Ferris wheel is infantile/taylorlike. Regardless, my sympathies go to the family and friends of the victim.