Action Park - Fatalities

Fatalities

Six people are known to have died directly or indirectly from rides at Action Park:

On July 8, 1980, a 19-year-old park employee was riding the Alpine Slide when his car jumped the track and his head struck a rock, killing him.

A week later, on August 1, a 27-year-old man from Long Island got out of his tipped kayak on the Kayak Experience to right it. While doing so, the man stepped on a grate that was either in contact with, or came too close to, a section of live wiring for the underwater fans that somehow became exposed and he suffered a severe electrocution which sent him into cardiac arrest. Several other members of his family nearby were also injured. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Warwick, New York where he died later of the shock-induced cardiac arrest. The park at first disputed that the electric current caused his death, saying there were no burns on his body, but the coroner responded that burns generally do not occur in a water-based electrocution. The ride was drained and closed for the investigation. Accounts differed as to the extent of the exposed wiring: the park said it was "just a nick," while others said it was closer to 8 inches (20 cm). The state's Labor Department found that the fan was properly maintained and installed and cleared the park of wrongdoing; however it also said that the current had the possibility to cause bodily harm under certain circumstances. While the park said it was vindicated, it never reopened the ride, saying that people would be afraid to go on it afterwards.

In 1984, a fatal heart attack suffered by one visitor was unofficially believed to have been triggered by the shock of the cold water in the pool beneath the Tarzan Swing. The water on the Tarzan Swing and in that swimming area was 50-60 °F (10-16 °C) while other water areas were in the 70-80 °F (21-27 °C) range more typical of swimming pools. The Tarzan swing and the cannon ball ride in this area were operated by spring water.

On August 27 of that year, a 20-year-old from Brooklyn drowned in the Tidal Wave Pool.