SANDUSKY— It came from above, hitting a woman waiting in line to ride the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster at Cedar Point.
David Vallo, a nurse from Lorain, arrived at the scene right afterthewoman was struck by a metal object that disengaged from the 420-foot roller coaster on Sunday afternoon.
Vallo told the News-Messenger Tuesday that people were initially yelling and trying to run for safety.
The objecthas yet to be identified by Cedar Point officials, who alsohave withheld the name of the woman struck or her hometown. She was taken to a hospital but her condition was not available Tuesday.
A 911 call obtained by the News-Messenger revealed the person was hit in the head with the object and was reportedly bleeding.
Within seconds of the incident, Vallo said 99% of the crowd waiting in line for the ride dispersed.
Scene at Top Thrill Dragster'was as calm as it could be'
"The scene was as calm as it could be," Vallo said. "CP (Cedar Point) EMS arrived very fast and those of us there aided them until Sandusky Fire arrived... which happened shortly after. The entire process moved pretty quickly."
The Sandusky Fire Department has denied public records requests from The News-Messenger to provide an incident report, claiming its release would violatethe Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The News-Messenger believes records compiled by the fire department are exempt from HIPAA laws as those laws apply only to health information released by a person's medical provider.
The Sandusky Police Department on Tuesday provided body camera footage that captures the frantic scene, with the injured woman screaming in agony for helpwhile rescue personnel attendto her.
The footage showsfire department personnel preparing to take the woman to Firelands Hospital in Sandusky and requestingLife Flight to transport her to a Toledo-area hospital.
"Just get her out of here," shouted one man who was off screen.
A Firelands Regional Medical Center spokesperson confirmed that woman was treated at the hospital before being transferred to another hospital.
Metal piece fell from roller coaster around 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Tony Clark, director of communications for Cedar Point, told the News-Messenger on Monday that the metal piece fell from the coaster around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
"The object came into contact with a female guest waiting in line for the ride. The park’s EMS team and Sandusky Fire Dept. responded immediately, and the guest was transported to the hospital for medical care. At this time, our focus is on the guest and her family," Clark said in a statement.
One unidentified man who said he was a deputy for Lorain County Sheriff's Office told police and park personnel that he could not find what fell off the ride, but said he saw the object fly off the ride in a downward trajectory.
While rescue personnel wereattending to the woman, a neck brace was needed for stabilizing the victim, but one was not available. Body camera footage includes a first responder saying that a neck brace was being brought to the scene.
"They'reyelling for c-spines and everything else, but we don't have none of that s--t in the bag," he says in the video.
Clarksaid the ride has been shut down for an investigation by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which oversees ride safety in the state.
"An ODA inspector was on site at Cedar Point immediately after notification of the accident Sunday afternoon involving the Top Thrill Dragster," Susan Showalter, ODA spokesperson, said Tuesday."Two inspectors, ODA’s Chief of Amusem*nt Ride Safety and enforcement agents were at Cedar Point Monday, performing an inspection of the ride and conducting an investigation of the accident. The investigation is ongoing."
The ODAlast inspected the ride May 14 and found someissues that needed to be upgraded in order to bring the ride to conformity.
After upgrades were made in May, ride was deemed compliant by inspectors
Those included hydraulic upgrades, a hydraulic propulsion system upgrade and repairs to black cherry car No. 2's right rear lap-bar cylinder soft repair and a lap bar cylinder creep test. All upgrades were made and the ride was ruled compliant on May 15.
After initially refusing to release an incident report citing HIPAA laws, the Sandusky Fire Department later stated that any document requests pertaining to Sunday's incident must be submitted to Cedar Point.
The News-Messenger is still awaiting a response to its public records request for documents from the park, though Cedar Point police and EMS are considered private entities and their records are not considered public record.
Brandon Heil, Sandusky City law director, said the city was not violatingpublic records law in refusing to provide documents, and said the News-Messenger's request for incident reports related to the Cedar Point incident did not accurately identifywhichrecords the news outlet was seeking.
"As you are well aware, the Ohio Public Records Act explicitly exempts 'medical records'from the definition of public records. I’m sure as you are also aware that EMS services create medical records and we are required by law to ensure that those records are not improperly provided to the general public," Heil wrote in a email to the News-Messenger and its attorney, Darren Ford.
Top Thrill Dragster, which opened in 2003, stands 420 feet tall and goes from zero to 120 mphwithin 3.8 seconds. The entire ride lasts 17 seconds.
cshoup@gannett.com
419-334-1035
Twitter: @CraigShoupNH
