Amusement Ride Bungee Cord Snaps
.c The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) - A cord on an amusement park's bungee ride snapped, hurling two
men into a support tower and leaving them temporarily stranded 70 feet above
the ground.
Gregary Carr, 25, and his brother-in-law, Philip Morgeson, 35, were treated
at a hospital and released after the accident early Sunday at the Zero
Gravity Thrill Amusement Park. A safety backup line worked as designed and
kept them from falling to the ground.
``That was the first and last time I'll get on a ride like that,'' said Carr,
25, who had 13 stitches in his leg.
Johnny Kuczaj, the park's general manager, said it was the first accident in
its 10-year history. The ride will remain closed until the cause can be
determined.
``There was no damage to the safety line, and all of the safety lines worked
100 percent the way they were supposed to,'' he said.
In the ride, two people are strapped in a chair that is surrounded by a metal
cage and suspended from two 120-foot-high towers by bungee cords. The chair
is pulled toward the ground and released, shooting the device and its
occupants 150 feet into the air at 70 mph.
``We heard something snap, and I could see the bungee cord recoiling and kind
of waving in the wind,'' Carr said. ``And we felt the cage tilt and we just
knew something was wrong.''
When they bounced near a tower, the two reached out and grabbed metal
scaffolding because they were afraid the other bungee might snap, Carr said.
Workers lowered them to the ground after 15 or 20 minutes.
``I kept thinking about those things you see on `Real TV' - I didn't want to
end up like that,'' Carr said.
Kuczaj said more than 100 people had ridden the ride earlier in the evening
without any problems.
AP-NY-07-30-01 1030EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.
Pat Noble
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