RodeoHouston changes 16 carnival rides' policies after accident

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There are new developments following this week's accident at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo carnival.

By now, many of you have probably seen our exclusive cell phone video of the 3-year-old girl falling from the ride. Rodeo officials have seen it, too, and now we've learned they're making more changes out at the carnival.

The crowds were out on force on Friday, but many people probably didn't realize there was a change in the ride policies prompted by what happened on Wednesday to that young girl.

A video taken by a parent capturing his own child's ride on the Techno Jump inadvertently recorded the girl's fall. Her mother couldn't fit into the seat so she let the girl, who met the minimum height rule ride, with her brother. In one image, she appears to be slumping in the seat. A few seconds later, as the car sweeps by again, she is seen trying to hold on with her body swinging in the air. Moments later, she was flung to the ground.

She has been released from the hospital after what's been called a concussion. Her family has hired an attorney.

The Techno Jump ride was put back into operation Wednesday evening, and people were lining up for it as soon as the rides opened Friday.

Despite all the publicity, some parents were unaware of the incident.

"You heard about this ride, right?" we asked Latonya Roberts, a mother of two kids.

"No," she said.

"The one where the little girl fell off," we said.

"This is the one?" she said.

Rules for the Techno Jump ride were enhanced after the girl's fall. After touring the midway late Thursday night, Rodeo CEO Leroy Shafer ordered that a total of 16 similar rides to now require a "supervising companion" who is 16 years or older.

"That supervising companion is going to have to be an adult. That's the way it will have to be from now on and that's gong beyond industry standards," Shafer said.

The images of the falling child, while dramatic, still don't show how she managed to elude the restraints of both a seat belt and a lap bar.

But for Roberts, it was the fact that it happened at all that scared her; her kids will be going on only the tamest of rides.

"The rides I don't feel are appropriate for them, I'm not going to put them on it; we'll just pass that up," she said.

We contacted the Texas Department of Insurance for comment. A spokesman for the agency acknowledged officials there had seen the video but said an opinion would not be appropriate.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, deborah wrigley

View the original article here

Child injured in carnival ride accident at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A three-year-old girl was injured in an accident at the RodeoHouston carnival Wednesday.

The accident happened at about 2:20pm. Leroy Shafer, Chief Operating Officer of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, told Eyewitness News the little girl, who is tall for her age, met the height and weight requirements of the Techno Jump ride, but was riding with her brother, rather than an adult.

According to witnesses, the mother decided to get off the ride before it started, leaving the girl and her brother on the ride.

The ride has a lap belt and restraining bar, but Shafer says the boy was unable to prevent his sister from crawling out of the seat. The girl fell a short distance to the ground just after the ride started moving.

The girl was taken to Texas Children's Hospital to be checked out. Shafer said she suffered a contusion on the side of her head and abrasions on her face, but a CAT scan and X-ray tested negative for more serious injuries. She will be OK, minus a painful wound and a bad memory.

Shafer emphasizes it is parents' responsibility to watch out for their kids. He says the Techno Jump is not a kiddie ride.

"The thing I want to emphasize to parents...be responsible out here," Shafer said.

Rodeo officials also say the ride operator is not at fault because she met the height requirement for the ride and there was no way to know that she was so young.

Rodeo spokesperson Sarah Poole says the ride was last inspected on Tuesday, and passed inspection.

The ride was shut down for an investigation but because incident records came back clear for the ride, it reopened later Wednesday afternoon.

Jerry Hagins with the Texas Department of Insurance also says the state has one reported injury of a slip and fall in 2008, but it didn't happen in Houston. The state also said the ride is in compliance with insurance and inspection requirements through March 31, 2012.

Rodeo officials says they will enforcing a policy for the Techno Jump until the end of this year and then they'll review it for the future.

"The ride operators are not going to let a child that's under 48 inches of height ride on the ride if the companion is not an adult," Shafer said.

State Representative Garnett Coleman says lawmakers need to do their part to maintain safety. He's working on legislation to hold traveling carnivals to the same safety standards as permanent ones.

"Clearly there needs to be more scrutiny on traveling amusement rides," Coleman said in a statement. "This is a yearly story with this particular operator that someone is hurt or killed."

Last year, a man fell to his death from a carnival roller coaster ride on the last night of the rodeo.

But in this particular accident, parents we talked to said it was the parent, not the carnival ride operator or the rodeo, who they felt was at fault.

"If the child is 42 inches tall and they're three, then I would get on with them. She's eight and I'm getting on with her," parent Shanta Robinson said.

We asked CPS if they plan to investigate Wednesday's incident and the agency said they don't plan on it because it appears to be a case of a parent just making a bad decision.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

houston livestock show and rodeo, local

View the original article here