List of incidents at Herschend parks explained

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at amusement parks, water parks or other attractions owned and/or operated by Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a Herschend-owned or -operated facility. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

Dollywood

See main article: Dollywood.

Dollywood Express

FireChaser Express

See main article: article and FireChaser Express.

Lightning Rod

See main article: Lightning Rod (roller coaster).

Mountain Blown Glass Shop

Parking lot

Thunder Express

Timber Tower

Waltzing Swinger

Wilderness Pass

Kentucky Kingdom

See main article: Kentucky Kingdom.

Chang

Hurricane Bay

Mile High Falls

Starchaser

Superman: Tower of Power

See main article: Superman: Tower of Power.

On July 13, 2007, the victim's family filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages, claiming that the park did not properly maintain the ride.[20] On November 29, 2007, a judge in the Jefferson Circuit Court said that Six Flags could dismantle the ride beginning February 1, 2008. As of December 1, 2007, the ride's cable was still in storage awaiting lab tests.[21] On May 30, 2008, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture released their report on the accident, concluding that the accident was caused by a deteriorated cable, as well as poor operator training. Had the operator acted in a timely manner to emergency stop the ride, the report states, the victim would have only suffered minor injuries. The report also stated that the park was fined $1,000 for not properly maintaining the ride.[22] Park officials admitted in deposition that only visual inspections of the ride's cables were performed, not hands-on inspections, that cables were not lubricated monthly, and that the ride's cables were not regularly replaced.[23] However, it was not possible to determine any one factor which specifically caused the cable to snap. On November 21, 2008, a settlement to "provide lifetime care" was reached between Kentucky Kingdom and the victim's family.[24]

T3

Vampire

Silver Dollar City

See main article: Silver Dollar City.

Fire in the Hole (1972)

See main article: articles and Fire in the Hole (Silver Dollar City).

Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train

Lost River Of The Ozarks

Other incidents involving guests

Outlaw Run

See main article: Outlaw Run.

Thunderation

See main article: Thunderation.

Wild Adventures

See main article: Wild Adventures.

Paradise River

Former properties

Ride the Ducks

See main article: Ride the Ducks. The duck boats operated by Ride the Ducks have been involved in a number of incidents. In July 2010 one of the amphibious vehicles stalled on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was struck by a barge, sinking the duck boat and killing two of the passengers, who were Hungarian tourists. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the tugboat operator's inattention to his duties.[41]

On May 8, 2015, a Ride the Ducks boat struck and killed a 68-year-old Beaumont, Texas, woman crossing the street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Chinatown section. Witnesses at the scene say that the woman crossed against a red light while viewing content on a tablet and was struck while in the boat's front blind spot. The incident is still being investigated.[42]

Ride the Ducks was sold to Ripley Entertainment in December 2017 and is no longer a Herschend property.[43] The sale occurred before the Table Rock Lake duck boat accident in July 2018 near Branson, Missouri, where a Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake during a thunderstorm, killing 17 passengers.[44] All locations of the attraction, outside of some locations in Guam, were permanently closed afterward.[45]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Woman released from hospital after fall from Dollywood train. Tim Miller. WATE.com. 2004-04-14. 2010-07-09. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120307182729/http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=1787851. 2012-03-07.
  2. Web site: Riders stranded on Dollywood roller coaster . 24 April 2019 .
  3. Web site: Dollywood's 'Lightning Rod' brought to a halt by recall. Thomas. Novelly. The Tennessean.
  4. News: Dollywood glassblowing shop employee injured; second incident at park in 2 days. WATE. Robert Holder. 2020-07-12. 2020-09-23.
  5. News: No citations for Dollywood tram crash that sent at least 6 to hospital, police say. Knoxville News Sentinel. Maggie Jones and Hayes Hickman. 2019-07-02. 2019-09-22.
  6. Web site: 18 Injured in Accident at "Dollywood" Theme Park. AP NEWS.
  7. News: Timber Tower Accident at Dollywood - CoasterCritic. CoasterCritic. CoasterCritic. 2007-06-18. 2019-09-22.
  8. News: Florida woman sues over brain injury suffered in fall at Dollyworld theme park. Jacksonville.com. Associated Press. 2014-12-31. 2020-09-04.
  9. News: Dolywood decoration fell, injuring 3 people. WBIR. WBIR Staff. 2020-07-11. 2020-09-03.
  10. News: Roller coaster shut down on second day.
  11. News: Kentucky Kingdom: Accident on Deluge sends one person to hospital. Louisville Courier Journal. David Harten. 2019-06-22. 2019-10-30.
  12. News: 13 evacuated from Kentucky Kingdom water ride after incident. WHAS-TV. WHAS11 Staff. 2018-07-28.
  13. News: Kentucky Supreme Court Reinstates $3 Million Defamation Verdict . Gannett . 2005-09-09 . 2007-06-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101030163559/http://gannett.com/go/newswatch/2005/september/nw0909-8.htm . 2010-10-30.
  14. News: https://archive.today/20130127021710/http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=258624 . 2013-01-27 . Girl who had feet severed by amusement park ride, in stable condition . KARE 11 . 2007-06-26 . 2016-11-23 . dead .
  15. News: Cause of theme park accident unknown . UPI . 2007-06-23 . 2007-06-24.
  16. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20090202130342/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18510590&BRD=1282&PAG=461&dept_id=182121&rfi=6 . 2009-02-02 . Kennywood closes ride, gives extra inspection . The Daily News . 2007-06-23 . 2016-11-23.
  17. News: Six Flags Rides Shut Down After Accident . AP . 2007-06-23 . 2007-06-23.
  18. News: Elitch's closes Tower of Doom after accident in Ky . Rocky Mountain News . 2007-06-23 . 2007-06-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930200925/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0%2C1299%2CDRMN_15_5599245%2C00.html . 2007-09-30 . dead .
  19. News: Six Flags Maiming Victim Has One Foot Reattached . WLKY . 2007-07-03 . 2007-07-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120213235530/http://www.wlky.com/news/13616751/detail.html . 2012-02-13.
  20. News: Theme park sued over foot-severing . UPI . 2007-07-13 . 2007-07-15.
  21. News: Kentucky Kingdom to tear down ride that maimed girl . The Courier-Journal . 2007-11-29 . 2007-12-01.
  22. News: Faulty Cable, Operator Blamed For Thrill Ride Accident . WKYT . 2008-05-30 . 2008-05-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225850/http://www.wkyt.com/news/headlines/19409284.html . 2016-03-03.
  23. Web site: 2008-04-14 . Deposition: Maintenance Guide Ignored on Ride that Injured Kentucky Teen . 2022-04-01 . Insurance Journal . en-US.
  24. News: Kentucky Kingdom settles with Lasitter family . https://archive.today/20130120044809/http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081121/NEWS01/81121032/-1/NLETTER05?source=nletter-breakingnews . dead . 2013-01-20 . The Courier-Journal . 2008-11-21 . 2008-11-21.
  25. Kentucky Kingdom officials had an evacuation plan in place but unfortunately, a park visitor called 911. Once Louisville Firefighters arrived they immediately took charge and delayed the evacuation for more than two hours while they assessed the situation, leaving riders stranded. They eventually decided to allow Kentucky Kingdom to continue with its original evacuation plan.News: 14 stranded for hours on Kentucky Kingdom roller coaster.
  26. News: T3 roller coaster at Kentucky Kingdom closes for investigation. June 2, 2018. June 2, 2018.
  27. News: Roller coaster at Kentucky park reopens after cars bump. 2018-06-03. WKYT. Associated Press.
  28. News: Officials: Woman hit in face by 'loose article' brought onto Kentucky Kingdom roller coaster. WAVE. Laurel Mallory. 2018-08-26.
  29. News: Roller coaster stops, strands riders.
  30. News: ROLLER COASTER ACCIDENTS. SF Gate. SF Gate. 1999-08-26. 2020-10-06.
  31. RideAccidents.com
  32. News: Injured on Silver Dollar City ride.
  33. Springfield Leader & Press Thursday, July 10, 1980
  34. Springfield Leader & Press Friday, July 11, 1980
  35. Web site: Rose . Andy . 7 injured at a Missouri theme park after a train ride derails . www.cnn.com. 27 October 2022 .
  36. News: State News: Theme park accident injures 19 (7/16/02). 2002-07-16.
  37. News: Woman injured exiting Silver Dollar City tram. Springfield Business Journal. Geoff Pickle. 2019-12-30. 2020-09-05.
  38. News: Girl Injured on Silver Dollar City Roller Coaster Recovering. TravelPulse. Donald Wood. 2015-07-30. 2019-11-22.
  39. Web site: Staff . KY3 . Thunderation reopens at Silver Dollar City 2 weeks after deadly incident . 2022-08-10 . www.ky3.com . 4 August 2022 . en.
  40. News: Near-drowning at Wild Adventures. The Valdosta Daily Times. 2011-06-03.
  41. "Families of Philadelphia 'duck boat' victims get $15M settlement". Cable News Network. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  42. "Woman Struck, Killed by Duck Boat in Philadelphia's Chinatown section." 6abc.com. ABC Inc., WPVI-TV Philadelphia, 8 May 2015. Web. 8 May 2015.
  43. Web site: Ripley Entertainment Acquires Ride the Ducks in Branson, Missouri . Ripley Entertainment . https://web.archive.org/web/20180720055716/http://www.ripleyentertainment.com/ride-ducks-branson-missouri/ . 20 July 2018. 2018-07-20 .
  44. Web site: Branson duck boat tragedy: 17 dead, all passengers accounted for . Springfield News-Leader . 20 July 2018.
  45. Web site: Church . Tim . 2019-03-20 . Branson Top Ops to replace Ride the Ducks . 2024-03-16 . Branson Tri-Lakes News . en.