Theme Parks Having a Rough Ride of Late
The new HammerHead ride at Knott’s Berry Farm got nailed Thursday night when a ride operator forgot to remove a safety gate and ramp from the passenger loading area. The ride whacked into the ramp, which sheered off a chunk of the facade and forced a shutdown of the HammerHead for about a day, according to Knott’s officials.
No one was hurt and damage was cosmetic, but the timing was hardly optimal for Knott’s. The incident happened the same day that an employee at Six Flags Magic Mountain was killed by a roller coaster at the Valencia park and just days after a Coney Island coaster derailment injured two people.
Such accidents have heightened concerns about the industry’s safety at a time when Knott’s is pushing for state legislation that could make it tougher for injured riders to win damages from parks if the patrons broke park rules or contributed to their own injury through reckless behavior.
Marla Dickerson covers tourism for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5670 and at marla.dickerson@latimes.com
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