Man dies of injuries suffered in 50-foot fall from Lagoon ride
FARMINGTON — A 32-year-old man who fell from Lagoon’s Sky Ride on Saturday has died of his injuries, Farmington Police Chief Wayne Hansen said Monday.
The man, whose name was not released, was seen on video “just hanging there” from the ride, Hansen said. “We’re still trying to figure out why he ended up doing that.”
The man fell about 50 feet from the ride, a conveyance similar to a ski lift, which traverses the amusement park.
Hansen said the man was alone on the ride but family members were with him at the park.
Investigators and Lagoon personnel verified the ride was functioning properly, with no mechanical issues, Hansen said.
The ride has a bar locking riders into the chair as it is operating. “That’s part of what we checked, and it was functioning as it should,” Hansen said. “It would appear he did something to get around that.”
He said Lagoon has been cooperating with the investigation “and I’m sure they will do their own independent look into things,” he said.
“It’s really a matter of what he was doing and why, and some of it we may never know,” Hansen said.
“Our hearts go out to that man’s family and friends and our guests and employees that witnessed the incident,” Lagoon spokesperson Adam Leishman said.
He said Lagoon’s rides are inspected daily. He said Lagoon has operated the Sky Ride without incident since it was installed in 1974.
“We’re in the business of fun, but the bottom line is and always will be safety,” Leishman said. “We have one of the remarkably good safety records in the world as far as parks go.”
The fatality apparently was the first at Lagoon since the 1980s, when a teenage girl fell out of a roller coaster and a toddler was crushed on the Puff the Magic Dragon ride, according to past coverage.
John Gleason, Utah Department of Transportation spokesperson, said the Utah Passenger Ropeway Safety Committee has jurisdiction over the Sky Ride. The committee, which includes UDOT, the U.S. Forest Service and other entities, oversees safety of aerial tramways, gondolas, chairlifts and similar operations.
“We’ve been in contact with Lagoon, but at this point it looks like a police investigation,” Gleason said. “It doesn’t appear to involve a malfunction of a mechanical, electrical or structural component.”