Tuesday, October 29, 2013
CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa. (AP) — The state Department of Agriculture is investigating a report that two people suffered injuries on a historic roller coaster in northwestern Pennsylvania.
The incident happened Saturday night on the 75-year-old Blue Streak, a wooden coaster at Conneaut Lake Park, which is about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Emergency crews told the Erie Times-News, which first reported the incident today, that one woman was taken to Meadville Medical Center with facial injuries, while a second woman was taken to the same hospital in a private vehicle. The names of the victims have not been released, and their conditions or precise injuries could not be confirmed Tuesday.
Agriculture press secretary Samantha Krepps confirmed that the department “is looking into it and we know two people were hurt.” Krepps said she couldn’t say at this point who reported the incident to the department, which oversees amusement ride inspections and enforces ride safety laws.
The financially troubled 121-year-old park is run by a public board of trustees, which leases its rides — including the coaster — to family-owned Adams Amusements LLC.
Lenny Adams, an official with the company, said he understands the riders may have lowered their heads because it was raining, then were hit by a lap bar when the ride hit a bump in the track. The ride was closed after the incident, but has reopened because crews determined there were no mechanical problems with the ride, Adams told the newspaper.