Playland Death

[roeems87 0]

Being an EMT at Playland, the death hits home (this second year in a row) moreso than I think it can with many other people. Granted, many (I would say, most if not all) of us have seen death before--children, adults, anything inbetween--but it certainly affects us all more when it's a child. I just have a thought to bring up and I'd like to see what you all think about it...

440,000 Americans die each year from diseases secondary to smoking...

200,000 children die each week in Africa from HIV/AIDS...

One child is tragically killed at an amusement park and the news will harp on it for weeks... Think about it...

You won't see the media praising the heroic efforts of our troops or emergency workers each day, but you will see over 20 news vans and 5 helicopters present at an amusement park where a tragic accident happened, ever-ready to place blame and mock the efforts upon the one that today, we couldn't save...

It made me sick to go to work this week and see the news vans all over everyone. They're in every row of the parking lot at the park. Just yesterday, I had to call an ambulance for a patient (a minor medical, though ambulance worthy)--not to mention calling ambulances is definitely a regular pattern, at least a few a week--and as PCRRBVAC pulled up to the emergency gate behind our office, there was a news camera in our face. If I didn't have the park's reputation and my own in my hands, I may have just been brutally honest with this given news station, but I wasn't.

What do you all think of the coverage of an event such as this? Or about any insignificant (in the broad scheme of things, as can be shown by the stats above) tragedy when looked at in the big picture? Has anyone else ever felt this way about something, where they work or live? Why is there no praise or are positive stories not shown more often on the news? The only heroism we get to see is in light of tragedy, and usually the latter is focussed on more. Finally, what the heck could possibly be done to change this pattern?

[Guest WolfEMT]

Roe, I definitely know where you're coming from. Sadly, as the saying goes, "if it bleeds, it leads," and that's just wrong. The accident with the child was just that - a tragic accident. The ME stated that he died as a result of trauma to the head, which I am surmising was second to the fall out of the boat. To blame the park, and ultimately the county, is short-sighted. Where was the child's mother? Why wasn't she watching her child? Surely, if she were watching her child climb around on the boat, she could have asked the operator to stop the ride, thereby avoiding the entire situation. But no, because of the media's morbid curiousity, the facts that the child was screwing around on the ride and his responsible guardian had her mind on other priorities, become moot points. It's a sad world that we all live in, especially since over the last 30 or so years, American society has become sue-happy. As far as the media, I don't think we can change anything about it. All it is for is the ratings; all the talking heads are going to give you is bad news because that's what American society will watch. Studies show that the average American will watch a story about a disaster involving death rather than an average public interest story, and that's a sad commentary.

[WAS967 97]

Don't be so quick to place the blame on the mother not being there. The ride allows people to go on based on height. Yeah thats no indicator of maturity or the ability to be left alone, but most people assume that thier kid will be safe on a ride. The Old Mill is a "tunnel of love" style ride. A mother that doesn't go on the ride would not be able to see thier child when they are on the ride. <br>What I wonder tho is why did it take the mother 20 minutes to realize that thier kid was missing?

Problem of course is that the blame will fall on the park and lawsuits will fly, and in the end, regardless of outcome, the park will suffer some sort of damage either to reputation and/or to wallet.

As with last year's incident, it will probably come to light that the kid was doing something they shouldn't have, most likely stood up when he should not have, or tried to get out of the ride. Common sense would dictate that you don't standup or try to get out of the ride while it's in motion, even if it is a slow ride. Unfortunatly it seems like kids aren't raised with much common sense these days.

[roeems87 0]

The exact details of what happened are still under investigation, and the basic ones that are pretty much known by the majority of the staff are not to be discussed until the conclusion of the investigation, however, a couple things to note...

This ride is so slow and tame that there are no seat belts whatsoever to hold you into the ride. It travels a very short distance, but takes 6 minutes to do it. It does seem reasonable that Mom didn't notice for 20 minutes, sometimes that happens faster than it seems (and would it be reasonable to suggest perhaps it was closer to 15--then it seems only two rides have completed and another began)... For those of you who have been on the ride, you would know there is really only one way he could have gotten off that ride, and that was if he intended to get off the boat, at no point would the ride do that all by itself, unless something he was doing was totally awry.

On another note, since our lovely boss at Playland (the big baba, not the EMT Captain) has failed to support his staff yet, I'd just like to add that the people who were there did an excellent job with what they faced that day, and unfortunately, despite their best efforts, fate wasn't on our side.

[Guest paramedico987]

I know the mother through a common friend... she's responsible, and was probably tending to one of her other 3 children.

[tunaFish 0]

Common sense is not taught. You have it or you don't. Hopefully you do get some of it listening to others and learning from your mistakes. A good upbringing helps. Wouldn't it be nice to take a course "Common Sense 101??"

[JBE 328]

It is sad when someone so young dies in a manner such as this. Nobody in the press bothers to ask where the parents were. As is becoming more and more common in this "Don't blame me", "Sue everyone" society. Hush money will probably, and unfortunately have to be paid by the county to compensate the family.

As for my feelings about the press, I think I have vented my thoughts on News 12, especially after a fatal third alarm I took in a number of years ago in the Bronx, or for the funeral of FF Lynch of 32 Truck in '02. Most of them know very little, or don't care to learn about what goes on at a fire/emergency scene, and they rarely do their homework when it comes to unit numbers or names of departments. True enough if it bleeds it leads, but at least know what you're talking about before you get in front of that camera.

Bottom line, give your kids a hug and a kiss today and keep an eye on them.

Edited August 11, 2005 by JBE