New ride inspection law triggers investigation after child falls off Florida coaster
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - A six-year-old boy remains hospitalized after falling off a roller coaster in Central Florida. It happened last week at Fun Spot in Kissimmee.
Osceola County Fire Rescue said the boy fell off the Galaxy Spin Roller Coaster. FOX 35 News obtained the Osceola County Sheriff's Office incident report, which states that depending on where the 6-year-old fell from, he may have fallen either 30 feet or 15.
Thankfully, he was conscious and alert when deputies arrived, but he was taken to the hospital.
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The incident report states the little boy and his parents were visiting from Louisiana. He was with another young boy on the ride, who the deputy specifically says had no involvement in the accident. The report also states there wasn’t anything suspicious that caused the accident.
The Galaxy Spin just passed an inspection report this past May.
Fun Spot also said in a statement, "The FDACS [Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services] has inspected the ride and found it to be in normal operating condition with no mechanical issues. They also found the ride was operated following all safety procedures and guidelines outlined by the manufacturer and industry standards."
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said just because the ride met current safety standards doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement.
"We have to remind ourselves that, you know, checking off all the boxes, we have to ask ourselves, what do the boxes say? So even if you've met all the criteria, perhaps it's an opportunity for the state to revisit this criteria and make it stronger," said Rep. Eskamani.
So the question still looms: how did this happen?
RELATED: Ride at Fun Spot's Kissimmee amusement park closed
Fun Spot’s website describes the galaxy spin rollercoaster as a "wild mouse-style" ride. That means it has sharp turns, which Fun Spot says produces heavy G-forces.
It does have a height requirement: you must be four feet tall to ride solo, or three and a half with an adult.
New legislation sparked by a tragedy at a different amusement park just kicked on July 1. That changed the standards for inspections, along with training requirements to operate rides.
Now, Rep. Eskamani wonders whether the rules need to be even stricter.
"If all these safety regulations were met and still a child was hurt and could potentially lose their life, then we need to revisit what those criteria were, look at modernizing them and ensuring that moving forward, we've learned from this tragedy, and hopefully I can create a new standard where we'll be repeated."
The park is still up and running, though the Galaxy Spin ride is closed down while the FDACS investigates int eh incident.
Fun Spot has two other locations: one in Orlando and one in Georgia. When FOX 35 asked Fun Spot whether the Galaxy Spin coaster is closed at those locations, too, a representative responded but ignored that question.