Free Republic

A juror on the panel that convicted an amusement park manager of reckless homicide for the death of a visitor said prosecutors did not convince him Charles Martin directly caused the tragedy. The jury spared Martin a second-degree murder conviction for the March 13, 2004, death of June Alexander, a 50-year-old woman who fell from a ride called The Hawk after her harness opened in midair. Prosecutors argued that Martin, who was general manager of the Rockin' Raceway when the incident occurred, used jumper cables in the ride's electrical cabinet that bypassed a critical safety system. However, juror John Nalepa...

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...