Questions Remain in Rules on Reporting Theme-Park Injuries

The weekend accident at Disneyland marks the fourth time since a new state law took effect in January that state officials have investigated injury accidents at amusement parks in California, regulators said Tuesday.

However, many theme parks--including Disneyland--have reported to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health other cases that resulted in minor injuries, including an April accident on the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin, the same ride that 4 1/2-year-old Brandon Zucker tumbled from Friday night.

Brandon, of Canyon Country, remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday at UCI Medical Center in Orange. Because the boy remains in a coma, doctors have not determined whether he has suffered brain damage. Paramedics revived the child after he was pulled from beneath a Roger Rabbit taxi cab.

Anaheim police investigators on Tuesday concluded their investigation of the accident. Later this week, police will deliver a report to state investigators, who have not been able to interview David and Victoria Zucker, the boy’s parents, because they have been too distraught, said Richard Stephens, a spokesman from the state agency.

“We haven’t made those arrangements yet, but it’s something we plan to do,” Stephens said.

Although the state law, which Gov. Gray Davis signed a year ago, requires amusement ride operators to immediately report to the state all accidents involving injuries, a precise definition of what accidents must be reported has not been worked out. Industry representatives have struggled with the state agency over the wording of the proposed new rules.

Still, since the law went into effect, Disneyland has reported two other accidents, which did not result in official investigations. In April, a 13-year-old Lake Forest girl slid from a carriage on the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin ride to fetch a stuffed toy that had fallen out. Paramedics had to free the child after her foot became wedged beneath the ride. The girl, who was not identified, was not seriously injured.

Then, on July 31, the Space Mountain roller coaster derailed, injuring nine, but none seriously.

So far this year there have been three other serious accidents, in addition to Friday night’s accident at Disneyland, that have warranted investigations:

* At an amusement park in Santa Cruz, one passenger broke his collarbone on the Hurricane roller coaster. The accident occurred when a larger passenger slammed into his smaller companion as their car went around a turn.

* At Marriott’s Great America in Santa Clara, a passenger broke his leg while trying to board a moving carousel. The ride operator was found to be at fault for loading passengers before the carousel stopped.

* At a Golfland attraction in Northern California, a rider got caught in the moving propeller of a bumper boat and nearly drowned. An employee at a tire store adjacent to the park jumped the fence, pulled the passenger out of the water and performed CPR.

Officials on Tuesday said the probe at Disneyland is far from complete.

“We’re reviewing design issues, we’re looking at the mechanical issues, and staffing issues, how the ride was being run,” said Stephens. “ . . . We haven’t focused on any one thing.”

The new state law allows the state to issue citations and impose fines of $25,000 and $75,000 for each violation that results in death or serious injury. It requires park operators to report any accident requiring “medical treatment beyond first aid.” The draft regulations list specific injuries that must be reported, “including, but not limited to, loss of consciousness, concussion, bone fracture, protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ, a wound requiring multiple sutures, or permanent disfigurement.”

The agency plans a public hearing on the proposed regulations Nov. 20 in Oakland.

Some consumer activists worry the list will create too many loopholes, including Kathy Fackler, a San Diego mother whose son was injured on a Disneyland roller coaster. She said the proposed rules will not allow data to be collected that would identify trends, which might prevent future accidents.

“We don’t know what we’re giving away because we don’t know what kind of injuries affect riders,” Fackler wrote in a letter to the state agency. “The whole point of accident reporting is to gather that kind of information.”

State regulators said that Disneyland has been cooperating with their probe of last weekend’s accident. Disneyland officials did not return telephone calls on Tuesday. The Roger Rabbit ride remained closed Tuesday as the state investigation continues.

An Anaheim police spokesman said the department has concluded its probe of the injury and will forward it findings to state investigators.

Meanwhile, in Valencia, at the Mervyn’s store where Victoria Zucker works, her colleagues were collecting donations and planning a luncheon to raise money for the family.

“When we heard the news, everybody was just heartbroken,” said store manager Mary Wolven. “Everyone’s continually coming up asking how Brandon is doing. We’re thinking positive, and there’s a lot of prayers out there.”

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Staff writers E. Scott Reckard, H.G. Reza and Kimi Yoshino contributed to this report.