Local woman recuperating after fall at fair
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Josh Kleinbaum
While investigators tried Monday to determine why Aidyl
Sofia-Gonzalez’s thrill ride went horribly wrong, the 30-year-old
woman returned to her La Canada Flintridge home, recovering from a
bad day at the fair.
Sofia-Gonzalez was hurt Sunday and spent one night at Western
Medical Center in Santa Ana after the Adrenaline Drop at the Orange
County Fair in Costa Mesa malfunctioned and a safety net failed to
prevent her from hitting the ground.
“She’s doing better than yesterday,” said Fred Serricchio,
Sofia-Gonzalez’s husband. He declined to give more specific
information about her injury and the incident.
Serricchio spoke briefly from the doorway of his pink stucco
house, an American flag waving to his right and a toy truck sitting
on the front porch. Inside, Sofia-Gonzalez was still recuperating
from the accident by using crutches, Serricchio said.
The Adrenaline Drop, operated by Amusement Management
International, is designed to give a realistic freefall experience.
Riders drop from the trapdoor of a 110-foot-tall platform, untethered
by bungee cords or harnesses. They are supposed to fall for 80 feet,
a spokeswoman for the fair said, before a net catches them 30 feet
off the ground. The net then lowers to ground level, allowing the
rider off, before rising for the next rider.
But when Sofia-Gonzalez jumped, investigators believe the nets
were lower than the required 30 feet, said Susan Gard, a spokeswoman
for the California Department of Industrial Relations. With her
husband and two sons watching, Sofia-Gonzalez’s fall was cushioned by
the nets but she hit a mat on the ground. She was taken by ambulance
to Western Medical Center.
“That’s what we’re looking at, that the net was not at the height
that it was supposed to be at,” Gard said. “We don’t know why.
There’s a whole series of fail-safes to ensure that the net is in the
proper place when the patron jumps.”
According to documents released by Gard, California’s Division of
Occupational Safety and Health has investigated Alan Putter, owner of
the Adrenaline Drop, twice before for problems on other rides. In
those cases, riders suffered minor injuries.
Putter declined to comment Monday afternoon.
Tom Forquer, a reporter for the Daily Pilot, a sister newspaper to
the News-Press, contributed to this report.