Del Mar : Ride Operator Killed at Fair

An operator of a roller coaster at the Del Mar Fair was killed Saturday evening when a passing car on the ride struck him, said a spokesman for the fair.

The man was standing beside the roller coaster’s tracks about 40 feet in the air, said Ted Bear, a spokesman for the fair.

The car, holding about 10 people, was traveling uphill about 15 m.p.h. when it struck the man, whose identity was not released. No one on the ride was injured, he said.

Police squad cars were needed to escort the fire department ladder engine through the traffic jam on Interstate 5 entering the fair, a fire department spokesman said.

Crews used the 100-foot ladder to lower the body from the ride, known as the High Miler.

The man was an employee of the Ray Cammack Shows company, which operated the ride, Bear said.

The ride was closed after the accident but is expected to reopen today. State inspectors were investigating, but Bear said, “There was nothing functionally wrong with the ride.”