Posted on 08/17/2003 6:23:42 AM PDT by John W
LANGLEY -- A man was killed Saturday when his long hair got caught in the amusement park ride he owned, pulling him up as high as 40 feet before he fell, back-first, onto a fence. Doug McKay, 40, was the co-owner of Paradise Amusements, based in Post Falls, Idaho. He was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the Super Loop 2, a roller coaster-type ride at the Island County Fair on Whidbey Island.
The ride was in progress at the time, and McKay's hair got caught on a car full of fairgoers, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith. He was pulled between 25 and 40 feet into the air.
"It basically scalped him, and he fell and landed on the fence," Smith said.
Hundreds of people witnessed the accident, Smith said, and grief counselors were on hand. It was unclear whether anyone on the ride might have tried to reach McKay.
Paradise Amusements had set up rides at the Island County Fair for the past three years, Smith said.
She said the fair continued after the incident.
By chance, were they circling overhead before they landed?
"It doesn't sound like grief was that much of a problem."
Good grief counselors.
And full-time BSer?? :-)
I hope your ducks are in a row for the inevitable lawsuit, too! No way in court will they say, "Yeah, they told us to wear hairnets all the time, but we just didn't listen!"
I suggest you not look for that thread. It was a truly tragic and heart-breaking story. The tragedy we have on hand to deal with here is stressful enough for the grievers on this thread to handle on a Sunday morning.
But remember that it is always darkest before the dawn. Things may seem hopeless and futile now but I know that each and every one of us have the power within us to pull through these dark and difficult times.
The sun is about to rise!
Instead of getting hung up on "what-ifs" such as "What if Doug wore a hair net" or "What if Doug got a haircut that day?", let's just focus on the positive attributes that Doug brought to our society and in particular, our carnival society. Doug brought unbridled joy into thousands of carnival goers and we can celebrate that this morning instead of dwelling on the what-ifs.
In every tragedy there is a silver lining. We can only hope that Doug is now giving angels in heaven the most kick-ass roller coaster ride of their afterlives up there in that great carnival-in-the-sky!
SamAdams76 - Your part-time grief counselor
BTW, I go off grief-counselor duty at 11AM. My replacement has called in sick claiming a "death in the family." The bastard! That's the fourth time he's had a "death in the family" this summer. Why is it that people in his family only die on beautiful Sunday afternoons? Huh? He never seems to have any sudden deaths to deal with on crappy, rainy Sundays. If he wants the afternoon off to sit in the yard and barbeque, why can't he be honest and upfront about it? Well I'm out of here at 11AM because I have a life too. If anybody here needs grief counseling after that time, well, I guess your out of luck. Sorry.
He still wouldda died if he were wearing a tie.
would that be Charlie Brown, Lucy or Snoopy?
I feel a major traumatization coming on. OTOH maybe it's just a case of the vapors.......;^)
Prairie
would that be Charlie Brown, Lucy or Snoopy?
That snarky Lucy is too mean to be a Good Grief! counselor. With her evil ways, she's caused poor Charlie Brown to repeatedly injure himself while tryng to kick a football.
My nomination for Good Grief! counselor would have to be Snoopy. When he's having some lucid moments, and not off being the Red Baron, he's quite effective at soothing the traumatized and the deeply saddened who dwell amongst us.
I was renting him out to the local power company to keep the trees trimmed back, and well, I guess he just sorta' misjudged the distance.
We're the fighting Sioux of North Dakota U. My Alma Mater.
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.