Wildwood ferris wheel death: How?

**S.PhillyNative** · 06-05-2011, 08:36 PM

I've read the news stories which report little, but unofficially...
Did anyone hear how this child could have fallen out of the gondola without doing something that she should not have been doing? and why an 11 year old child was on this 40 story ride alone? Where the hell were the chaperons? I heard she fainted--could she have leaned over, looked down, fainted and tumbled over the rail? How tall was this 11year old child?

It's such a tragedy. I'm haunted by it because it was so preventable.

I only hope that if they now want more regulations to prevent a "freak accident" like this that they simply institute new rules for children, and don't change the character of he ride with more restraints and cages.

**LedZep2147** · 06-05-2011, 08:46 PM

Been on the ferris wheel at Mariner's Landing many times and you really have to try to get out of the caged car.

**NJbound** · 06-05-2011, 08:47 PM

so very sad. Horrible way to die.

**Sycamore** · 06-05-2011, 09:50 PM

The odds of being seriously injured on an amusement park ride in the US is one in 9 million. Pretty good odds. I don't think more regulations are required as it relates to the Ferris Wheel itself. Having a child in a car by herself probably was the mistake, if one existed. Sometimes freak accidents happen.

**desolate** · 06-06-2011, 09:54 AM

Darwin.

C'mon... you have to try and fall out of one of these.

**CHIOSSO** · 06-06-2011, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by LedZep2147

Been on the ferris wheel at Mariner's Landing many times and you really have to try to get out of the caged car.

**Philly.Man** · 06-06-2011, 07:41 PM

I would never try to pin a Darwin on an 11 year old.

**desolate** · 06-07-2011, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by Philly.Man

I would never try to pin a Darwin on an 11 year old.

Why not.

An 11 year old should have the concept of heights.

and not a single adult noticed the child attempting to exit the vehicle?

Would you let a child crawl out of a moving car's window? Would an 11 year old think that was safe?

**Politburo** · 06-07-2011, 09:18 AM

Yeah, double down on blaming the victim!

And make sure to include each sentence on its own paragraph.

Just for readability's sake.

And to exercise your scroll wheel.

**Philly.Man** · 06-07-2011, 08:24 PM

Wouldn't it be the adult who possibly witnessed the child trying to get out of the ferris wheel a Darwin? Wouldn't it be the adult who allowed an unatteded child to get on a ferris wheel that rises over 150 ft a Darwin? We don't know what caused the child to get out of her seat. We don't know if it was medical, if something startled her, if she was trying to move to the other side because the view was better, etc. Children haven't matured to the point of being able to think through all possibilities, weighing each option with the positives and negatives or to have the benefit of multiple past experiences to guide them, which is why children that young do not vote, drive, or go to war.

Would a child be able to judge the speed of the car to realize that it was moving too fast to survive without injury? Everyday, kids misjudge the speed of cars and dart in front of them thinking that they will make it to the other side before the car reaches them. Many misjudge.

**billy ross** · 06-07-2011, 10:11 PM

My daughter is 10. My son is 7. Either one would have the judgment to stay in the gondola and hold on tight if they were in the gondola by themselves.

Originally Posted by Philly.Man

Wouldn't it be the adult who possibly witnessed the child trying to get out of the ferris wheel a Darwin? Wouldn't it be the adult who allowed an unatteded child to get on a ferris wheel that rises over 150 ft a Darwin? We don't know what caused the child to get out of her seat. We don't know if it was medical, if something startled her, if she was trying to move to the other side because the view was better, etc. Children haven't matured to the point of being able to think through all possibilities, weighing each option with the positives and negatives or to have the benefit of multiple past experiences to guide them, which is why children that young do not vote, drive, or go to war.

Would a child be able to judge the speed of the car to realize that it was moving too fast to survive without injury? Everyday, kids misjudge the speed of cars and dart in front of them thinking that they will make it to the other side before the car reaches them. Many misjudge.

**S.PhillyNative** · 06-07-2011, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by billy ross

My daughter is 10. My son is 7. Either one would have the judgment to stay in the gondola and hold on tight if they were in the gondola by themselves.

I, too, would like to think that both my children at 11 would have had the where-with-all to sit still and enjoy the ride as designed, but.... aduts don't leave the responsibility up to a child when #1-they can get hurt, and #2-they are not your child. We don't know whats going on in her mind or what her life is like. She obviously had some problem that she thought she could solve by climbing or leaning over the rail and it seems that we may never know, but the school is the responsible party (and Morey's if they skirted the regulations). That is why we put adults in charge of wild acting children, and they failed miserably.

**billy ross** · 06-08-2011, 12:17 AM

Originally Posted by S.PhillyNative

I, too, would like to think that both my children at 11 would have had the where-with-all to sit still and enjoy the ride as designed, but.... aduts don't leave the responsibility up to a child when #1-they can get hurt, and #2-they are not your child. We don't know whats going on in her mind or what her life is like. She obviously had some problem that she thought she could solve by climbing or leaning over the rail and it seems that we may never know, but the school is the responsible party (and Morey's if they skirted the regulations). That is why we put adults in charge of wild acting children, and they failed miserably.

I think it is more likely she was being a daredevil.

**Polar Cub** · 06-08-2011, 05:25 AM

We've all riden on ferris wheels. You don't just fall out. Period.
Still, a sad story.

**cewillm** · 06-08-2011, 06:43 AM

Who wants to bet she was trying to hop over to her friend's gondola?

**S.PhillyNative** · 06-08-2011, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by billy ross

I think it is more likely she was being a daredevil.

Wow! I never considered theatrics! I'm so intimidated by the sheer size of that thing, I get vertigo just thinking about getting stopped at the top!...but that is another possibility given the difficulty in getting out of that gondola (as crazy as it seems). Could a child be that fearless?

**desolate** · 06-08-2011, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Politburo

Yeah, double down on blaming the victim!

And make sure to include each sentence on its own paragraph.

Just for readability's sake.

And to exercise your scroll wheel.

Sure.

It was their fault they fell out of a ride several stories in the air.

**Philly.Man** · 06-08-2011, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by billy ross

My daughter is 10. My son is 7. Either one would have the judgment to stay in the gondola and hold on tight if they were in the gondola by themselves.

So, when you go out at night, there is no need to hire a babysitter for your children, right? Afterall, they should have the judgment to stay inside, keep the doors locked, and do nothing that might cause them harm. Anyone who does hire babysitters for their children must not be raising their children correctly, or are just wusses.

**billy ross** · 06-08-2011, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by Philly.Man

So, when you go out at night, there is no need to hire a babysitter for your children, right? Afterall, they should have the judgment to stay inside, keep the doors locked, and do nothing that might cause them harm. Anyone who does hire babysitters for their children must not be raising their children correctly, or are just wusses.

Sometimes we get a babysitter, sometimes we don't. Last night my wife left all three kids at home asleep by themselves, including the 15 month old, while she picked me up from the train. Tonight she got the girl who lives behind us to babysit since she didn't expect me to have returned by now. Our rule is if there are other kids involved, there will always be supervision. If it's only our kids, we'll leave them at home by themselves for a few minutes, maybe even up to an hour, especially if the baby isn't there, at which point it can stretch well beyond an hour.

Our daughter walks herself home from school (sometimes), takes the key out of the lockbox, lets herself into the house, and turns the alarm off, then stays home by herself until I get home. She's in 4th grade. It's no big deal. She wouldn't have fallen out of a gondola on the Wildwood ferris wheel. It simply wouldn't have happened. She's had the same teacher for 2nd and 4th grade. He wants her to stay behind so that she can show the new kids how to be 4th graders.