New Jersey Amusement Park Accident Sends Teen to Hospital

Wildwood, NJPolice have commenced their investigation into a recent amusement park accident in New Jersey in which a ride partially collapsed, sending a 13-year-old to the hospital.

According to the Press of Atlantic City, police said a portion of the Sea Dragon ride, which is located at Morey's Mariner's Landing Pier at the Wildwood Boardwalk, broke while the ride was moving.

The teenager, whose identity was not released by police officers, was reportedly taken to Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House to be treated. The news source reported that the extent of the injuries the teenager suffered was not known.

Police said that the mast in the center of the ride—which is a pirate ship that swings back and forth—snapped and collapsed on the night of August 19. The state's subcode official for amusement park rides is also reportedly investigating the incident.

The news source reports that the accident is just the latest to plague Morey's Mariner's Landing Pier this summer, as an 11-year-old girl died on June 3 during a school trip after she reportedly fell from the Giant Wheel Ferris wheel ride, which was approximately 100 feet in the air at the time.

The death of the girl, who was reportedly the only occupant of the Ferris wheel's gondolas, led to the state Department of Community Affairs to seek a policy of at least two riders per gondola, as well as a new height requirement for the ride. However, inspectors reportedly found that the ride was, in fact, safe at the time, the news source reported.

In addition to these horrific theme park accidents that have taken place in New Jersey over the past few months, an Idaho man was injured recently in an incident that took place at Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho.

According to local television station KTVB, a spokesperson for the amusement park said that the man was attempting to climb into the Corkscrew roller coaster when he apparently lost his footing and tumbled five feet onto the ride's tracks.

Officials said that while the ride was not in motion at the time of the accident, emergency crews were brought in to rescue the man, a process that took more than one hour since the victim was unconscious.

While the extent of the man's injuries were not immediately known, the man was reportedly taken to a local hospital.

The ride was shut down for several hours after the accident, but park officials said a malfunction of the Corkscrew was not to blame, according to the news source.