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Local woman recuperating after fall at fair

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.

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