Family to Get $1.7 Million for Slide Collapse

In a case that helped trigger regulation of California amusement parks, the family of a 17-year-old girl who died in a 1997 water slide collapse has tentatively settled a negligence lawsuit for $1.7 million.

In the agreement--a copy of which was obtained Friday by The Times--none of the defendants admitted liability.

The defendants include Waterworld USA in Concord, Calif.; its parent company, Premier Parks Inc.; slide maker Whitewater West Industries; and the Napa Valley Unified School District.

The school district was accused of encouraging students to overload the slide as part of an annual year-end ritual. The crowded slide ripped apart 37 feet above ground, killing Quimby Ghilotti and injuring 32 other students.

The defendants had contended that the students’ behavior caused the accident, though the plaintiffs said the warnings and safety systems were inadequate. As part of the settlement, the school district and Premier expressed their sympathies for the family and acknowledged that the girl never intended to harm herself or anyone else.

The money will be split between Victoria Nelson, the mother, and her former husband, Larry Ghilotti.

The accident was the first of a series of high-profile accidents at theme parks across the country. A tourist was killed at Disneyland in 1998 when a metal mooring cleat tore loose from a tall-ship ride at the dock and flew into a crowd.

Attorney Jeffrey T. Roberts, a wrongful-death specialist in Newport Beach, said the settlement in the Concord case seemed low, perhaps reflecting the difficulty in apportioning blame among the parties.

By contrast, he estimates that the Disneyland case could be settled for $20 million to $25 million because investigators blamed the park for misusing equipment and inadequately training the employee involved.