Thrill ride at Magic Waters closed after injury complaints - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

• The Winnebago County Health Department has suspended the license associated with the Splash Blaster water coaster. The Health Department, along with the Illinois Department of Public Health, are responsible for the inspection of public swimming facilities per state and county code.

  "Based on the recent media articles reporting significant injures allegedly related to the Magic Waters Splash Blaster Coaster amusement ride, the Winnebago County Public Health administrator has suspended the license for the Magic Waters Splash Blaster Coaster Pool pursuant to Section 50-362/Emergency Orders," department spokeswoman Sue Fuller said in an email.

  The Register Star reported Aug. 27 that seven lawsuits have been filed since July 2014 against the Rockford Park District, which owns Magic Waters, involving injuries suffered on the Splash Blaster. Six of the claims were filed this year. Two of those suits were filed by people who suffered injuries on the same day. Most of the lawsuits blame under-inflated rafts for not providing proper support on the ride. Several plaintiffs suffered compression fractures to the vertebrae. WGN-TV Chicago reported on the injuries Tuesday.

  "Working in cooperation with the Winnebago County Health Department, the Splash Blaster attraction at Magic Waters Waterpark is currently not in operation for the holiday weekend," Park District spokeswoman Laura Gibbs Green confirmed in an email. "We are offering guests a $5 discount, and we apologize for this inconvenience."

  The Park District has the opportunity to request an administrative hearing to address the closure of the ride but hasn't yet, the Health Department said.

  The Splash Blaster, which opened 15 years ago, begins on a two-person inflatable raft. The raft is carried by a conveyor system 35 feet in the air, takes a quick plunge through a dark tunnel, then is propelled through the rest of the coaster by powerful streams of water. The injuries typically happen after the first steep drop, plaintiffs told the Register Star.

  They also said they wanted to see the ride shut down so no one else gets hurt.

  "They need to shut the ride down completely. My 10-year-old grandson could go on that ride," said Mary Tucknott of Rockford, who was injured on the ride July 12, 2015, and filed suit Aug. 17.

  Tucknott fractured her T10 vertebra — one of 12 that make up the central section of the vertebral column — and damaged her T3 and T4. She underwent kyphoplasty surgery to her spine and is scheduled for an epidural in September. She moves gingerly and walks with the assistance of a cane after the injury.

  "I'd hate to see a little one go through that and ruin the rest of their lives," she said.

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  Attendance at Magic Waters is up compared to 2014 — 178,000 versus 162,000 — with even more people expected to visit during a hot Labor Day weekend. The last day of the park's 2015 season is Monday.

  Kevin Haas: 815-987-1410; khaas@rrstar.com; @KevinMHaas

• By Kevin Haas
  Rockford Register Star

  Rockford Register Star

  By Kevin Haas
  Rockford Register Star

  Posted Sep. 3, 2015 at 1:58 PM
  Updated Sep 3, 2015 at 7:14 PM

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Thrill ride at Magic Waters closed after injury complaints - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL