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Safety bar led to fall off Ferris wheel, wife says
By Lisa Smith
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, July 12, 2005
With his 9-year-old daughter at his side, Brian Byrne rode around a carnival Ferris wheel Saturday night in Batavia, looking down to wave to his wife on the ground below.
His hand was resting on the metal lap bar that secures riders into the gondola when it suddenly gave way, his wife said.
Katherine Byrne said she watched in horror as her husband slipped off the seat, banging into another gondola as he fell 20 feet to the ground. Their daughter remained on the ride.
“I did see the whole thing,” said Katherine Byrne, who is still shaken from the ordeal at the Windmill City Festival.
Doctors have ordered 48-year-old Brian Byrne to stay off his feet. He was rushed to the emergency room at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva and released at 3 a.m. Sunday with bumps and bruises, a broken leg, a separated shoulder and head injuries, his wife said.
“He’s in pain and he is recovering,” Katherine Byrne said.
He will be out of work for weeks or months, said attorney Chris Hurley, who is representing the Byrne family. They are seeking compensation from Windy City Amusements and might file a lawsuit against the St. Charles-based company.
“People are not supposed to fall out of Ferris Wheels,” said Hurley, of the Chicago firm Hurley, McKenna & Mertz. “When that happens, that means there was negligence. The question is, who was responsible? I know one thing — it’s not the passenger’s fault when that happens.”
Calls to Windy City Amusement were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Hurley said Byrne was not rocking the gondola or acting irresponsibly.
“This is a nice guy. He’s not some teenage kid rocking a Ferris wheel with his daughter,” Hurley said. “Even if somebody was, the door’s not supposed to open.”
Officials from the Illinois Department of Labor’s carnival and amusement ride inspection division checked the gondola Saturday and again Monday but the results have not yet been released. The agency is responsible for inspecting and certifying carnival rides.
The ride was shut down Saturday after the 10 p.m. accident.
Ken Martin, an amusement ride safety consultant based in Richmond, Va., said wear and tear with age often causes Ferris wheel bars to lose their effectiveness.
“A lap bar pops open because it’s not well-maintained,” said Martin, an amusement industry professional for more than 20 years. “That’s been my experience.”
Some manufacturers have added seat belts to accompany the safety bar, Martin said. That was not the case with the 40-foot Big Eli at the Windmill City Festival.
“If I were looking into this, I would be talking to the ride operator. Did the ride operator check the latching device?” Martin asked. “They’ll pull on it but not lift it straight up. That’s how you can tell if the latching device has gone bad.”
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