Oregon Teens Win $550,000 After Terrifying Amusement Park Ride Incident
A day at the amusement park is fun for thrill-seekers of all ages. However, for a pair of teenagers, things took a drastic turn in 2024. A lawsuit filed because of the events of that day recently came to a conclusion, with the park ordered to pay the teens a staggering $550,000.
Xitlali Gomez-Salais and Evie Yannotta were each awarded $275,000 in the verdict, which came after the teens described their experiences and the physical and emotional effects they said followed the incident. The case has brought renewed attention to amusement park safety and how much liability riders accept when they step onto the rides that they love so much.
The Ride Stopped in an Unthinkable Position
The Oak Park ride accident occurred on the AtmosFEAR, a ride that flips upside down at 50-plus feet in the air. On June 14, 2024, the ride stopped while the passenger compartment was in an inverted position, leaving the riders suspended upside down. They remained in that position for approximately 25 minutes before emergency crews were able to bring the ride down.
Multiple videos of the accident show the riders hanging vertically while onlookers stood below. The images were especially worrisome because the ride appeared to be functioning normally up until the moment of the Oregon amusement park accident. Portland Fire & Rescue eventually worked with park personnel to manually lower the ride and remove the passengers. The riders were then medically evaluated.
Two of the Riders Were Just 13 and 14
Gomez-Salais and Yannotta were teenagers when the incident occurred. The friends were celebrating their graduations from the 8th grade when the ride malfunctioned. During the trial, both girls described being afraid that their restraints would fail under their weight while they were suspended above the ground.
Yannotta testified that the experience was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. Gomez-Salais described fearing that she would die and said she didn't want people below to watch her die. Those accounts helped jurors in the case get a better understanding of the terror that the teens, who are both now 16, faced. For the teenagers, there was no way of knowing how long they would remain suspended or whether the equipment holding them in place would continue to work.
The Other Riders Were Terrified, Too
The two teens certainly weren’t the only people aboard the ride. According to multiple reports, there were around 30 people on the ride when it stopped. Accounts from the incident described riders screaming, crying, and becoming physically ill while they waited to be rescued. Some riders reportedly fainted. Experts agree that the position they were stuck in made the situation even more challenging.
Being suspended upside down causes blood to pool toward the head, while the body's weight presses differently against the restraint system. The longer riders remained in that position, the more uncomfortable and frightening the situation became. What might have been a brief ride interruption under normal circumstances became an emergency situation because everyone was upside down.
The Rescue Required a Manual Solution
One of the biggest issues in the legal case involved how the ride was brought back to the ground. Portland Fire & Rescue crews worked with park engineers to manually lower the ride. The entire process took roughly 25 minutes from the time the ride stopped until the riders were safely removed. The families of the two girls who filed the lawsuit argued that the park was not adequately prepared for a malfunction of this magnitude.
According to statements made after the verdict, the family of one of the girls alleged that Oaks Park didn't have the necessary tools to lower the ride and had to contact the manufacturer to determine how to handle the situation. The family also alleged that delays involving emergency access prolonged the riders' ordeal.
The Ride Manufacturer Was Also Sued
Oaks Park was not the only company that faced a lawsuit based on the teens being trapped upside down. The ride was manufactured by Zamperla, an Italian company that produces amusement attractions. Oaks Park later filed a separate lawsuit against the manufacturer, alleging that Zamperla was responsible for problems involving the ride and the park's ability to respond to the malfunction.
Nine riders ultimately filed suit against the park, and seven of those cases were settled before the most recent ruling. Following the verdict, the park said it agreed that the ride should not have become stuck and emphasized that all of the riders were safe.
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