State Of Colorado Inspectors Arrive At Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park After Girl Dies On Ride
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - Inspectors with the Colorado's Division of Oil and Public Safety arrived at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park Tuesday morning. They will begin what will likely be a long inspection process following the death of a 6-year-old girl.
The child was vacationing with her parents from Colorado Springs when she died on the park's Haunted Mine Drop, a ride that plunges around 110-feet at 96 feet per second down a 120-foot mine shaft.
The Garfield County Coroner's Office said in a statement Tuesday that after consulting with the family, it would not be releasing the victim's identity at this time.
"The coroner's office will be in contact with the family daily and reassess the release of the child's name as appropriate. The coroner's office does their best to balance the release of information to the public and the privacy of families while they grieve the loss of a loved one."
On Tuesday, an autopsy was performed, and the forensic pathologist identified multiple blunt force injuries, but the final cause and manner of death won't be available until the investigation has been completed.
Investigators are still working to determine what happened that lead to the child's death.
According to initial calls to calls to police from dispatch Sunday evening, the girl fell 110 feet while the ride was operational.
One family from Arizona told CBS4 off-camera, they planned to visit the park once it reopened. They regularly take their son to theme parks and believe weight requirements should be a requirement along with height requirements. At 49 inches, their 7 year old is still too light for many rides. They said for more extreme rides like the Haunted Mine Drop, a five-point harness system should be in place.
In order to ride the Mine Drop, guests must be at least 46 inches tall.
A guest of the park who rode the Haunted Mine Drop just hours before the incident occurred said she is still coming to grips with what happened and hoped sharing her experience would help.
While it's not known how the girl died, she says staff did double check the safety of her belt.
"There are two seatbelts per person, and I thought I had buckled both of mine in. The operator of the ride went around the corner to start the ride, but quickly reappeared because my second buckle was not secured all the way. I joked 'hey that's important, thank you for double checking,'" said Marybeth Riegel Urrutia. "So if it helps Glenwood at all, they do double check the seatbelts. My understanding is the ride won't start until everyone is secured properly."
The ride was built in 2017, and according to the state's website, all amusement parks are required to undergo annual third-party inspections.
According to a tweet from Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, the park will reopen Saturday, Sept. 11.
