A 32-year-old man has died after falling nearly 50 feet to the ground from an amusement park ride in Utah.
The incident took place Saturday on the Sky Ride at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington and was filmed on cellphones by multiple park-goers, according to Fox News. Farmington Police Chief Wayne Hansen said his office was notified Monday that the man had passed away after spending the weekend in critical condition at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, Fox News reported. His identity has not been released to the public.
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The man is seen dangling from the chair and holding on to the safety bar, which is supposed to keep people from falling out of their seats, footage captured by a bystander shows. He appears calm, quiet and does not seem to be making an effort to get back in the ride’s chair, video shows. (RELATED: 1 Dead, 3 Critically Injured After Amusement Park Raft Flips)
“My husband noticed there’s a guy hanging on the ride,” Lucy Grace Astilla, a fellow rider who recorded the incident, told Fox 13. “And I am thinking this is a professional gymnast or a stunt.” Moments after Astilla turned her camera, the man let go of the bar and crashed to the ground, according to Fox 13.
“We are saddened by an unfortunate incident that occurred on the sky ride yesterday,” Lagoon Amusement Park wrote Sunday in a statement on Facebook. “Our hearts go out to the family and others associated.”
Police told KSL.com the man had gone to the park with other family members but was on the ride alone at the time of the incident. “We don’t know why he did that or what was going on,” Chief Hansen told the outlet. “We just don’t know.” Hansen also said that the department plans to conduct toxicology tests as they search for answers.
Both the park and police investigations into the Sky Ride showed it was operating normally at the time of the incident, Fox News reported. Park spokesperson Adam Leishman added that the ride has a flawless safety record that dates back to 1974, according to Fox 13.
The Sky Ride is a slow-moving ride that resembles a chairlift at a ski resort, and is mainly used as transportation from one end of the park to another, rather than a thrilling attraction, Fox News reported.
