There’s nothing funny about a Darwin Award either but they are earned all the time.
It’s sad that a supposed-to-be-fun trip for a church group ended like this. It’s sad that a young man’s life is over so soon. I’m sorry to hear about his death, no matter what the circumstances. I feel terrible for his family, his friends, the ones who may have witnessed this, bystanders and riders.
However, at 17, or even at 7, I wouldn’t have climbed two fences and passed under an operating roller coaster to retrieve ANYTHING. I can pretty much be assured that my two sons, one adult and one almost, wouldn’t have done it either. They know the fences are there for a reason. Yeah, they’ve done some dumb stuff already, but nothing like this. In fact, they know to leave anything on the loading platform before riding, as once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. My husband says, dumb as he might have been as a teen, he wouldn’t have gone under any rides or tracks at an amusement park, climbing safety fences to get there.