Posted on 05/31/2002 6:48:12 PM PDT by rwfromkansas
1 Dead In Kennywood Collapse Several More Reportedly Injured
POSTED: 7:37 p.m. EDT May 31, 2002 UPDATED: 9:29 p.m. EDT May 31, 2002
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. -- The roof of a structure that houses a Kennywood Park ride collapsed during severe storms Friday night, causing one death and several injuries, WTAE's Susan Koeppen reported.
The collapse happened around 7 p.m. at The Whip, which is in the Lost Kennywood area of the amusement park. People were said to be running for safety while debris flew around in the high winds, trees were uprooted, and branches snapped off.
A park official said there were riders on the Whip's 16 cars when the accident happened. Early reports indicate that as many as 20 people were injured, and several of them were taken to hospitals in Pittsburgh.
The park was heavily attended Friday, and the Penn-Trafford School District was having its annual picnic.
Patrons were asked to leave after the accident, and the park was closed. People waiting for rides home have been moved to the guest relations office. Anyone who needs information may call the park at 412-461-0500 (ext. 1100).
The Whip is Kennywood's oldest flat ride, said park spokeswoman Mary Lou Rosemeyer. It was built in 1918 and relocated once before moving to its current pavilion-like home in 1995.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WTAE's Michelle Wright reports that trees are down in the area just outside the park, and the roof of an auto-body shop on Route 837 caved in.
Heavy rainfall is still hitting the western Pennsylvania area. Action News has received reports of widespread damage, including flooding, trees and wires down, and mudslides.
Hail and funnel clouds have been reported in some areas, and tornado warnings were issued Friday evening, but no tornadoes have been confirmed.
Several weather warnings and watches remain in effect. Go to thepittsburghchannel.com/severeweather for a complete list of affected areas.
WTAE meteorologist Don Schwenneker said the National Weather Service will likely send investigators to the region Saturday morning to determine whether it was hit by a tornado or a microburst.
I hope no other people are seriously injured in the collapse.....
I have been on that ride many times.
In fact it was one of the few rides the my wife would ride.
She is from the middle of nowhere in Georgia, and was afraid of the roller-coasters.
This is sad.
Latest news: 27 injured. Video of aftermath coming in, ambulances lined up, people in shock, windows blown out of cars in the parking lot by wind and/or hail. Kennywood Amusement Park is known amoung coaster freaks as one of the best coaster parks in the world, and is right outside of Pittsburgh city limits, southeast of the city in West Mifflin. For all you who check out hourly conditions on NWS sites around here, it is roughly 3 miles northeast of the Allegheny County Airport.
What a horrible thing to happen. My sister was supposed to be there today but at the last minute her friends canceled because of the weather. All the kids in my area were there today, it was the school picnic day for our school district. Keep these people in their prayers, please!
The entire ride is inside a wooden structure, from the pictures it looks like the roof fell straight down.
FYI, this was a tornado, or close to one, so there wasn't much opportunity to prepare for it. Just blew threw for about five to ten minutes. And they're now saying 50 to 60 hurt.
Lord, protect these children and give them comfort. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Injured confirmed 40 at hospitals up to 60. No life threatening injuries, mostly fractures. The storm moved very quickly. I saw it move in as I left my parent's house just up the river from Kennywood. Clear skys quickly gave way to storm clouds, then lightning, then high winds and black as night.
In my parent's neighborhood there are dozens of trees down- a 60 foot red cedar in my folk's yard is snapped off at about 30 feet, the top on their roof. A covered lawn swing they had next to their koi pond was lifted off the ground and thrown more than 30 feet away. Large pine trees and oaks and maples--all tres that were huge when I was a kid 30 years ago, were snapped like twigs. It looks like this storm cell moved in a line, thru Lawrenceville, into Greenfield, Swissvale, Rankin/Homestead and then to Kennywood. Trees toppled. Roofs blown off, building collapsed. The storm blew out car windows on vehicles parked at Kennywood.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning about 3 to 7:00. The storm blew threw a few moments later. There was no warning. There was no time to react. Its tragic, but it was unavoidable.
But I wonder why anyone would go to an amusement park in bad weather...oh well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.