A man died Saturday after being captured on video dangling from a Utah amusement park sky ride before falling off.
The 32-year-old was hanging from the sight-seeing ride at Lagoon Amusement Park before he fell about 50 feet, Local News 8 reports. Farmington Police are investigating the death, which they were notified of Monday, telling Fox 13 that the accident was unintentional.
A video captured by witness Lucy Grace Astilla, who went to the park for a birthday party, shows the unidentified man holding a protective bar on the ride as his body hangs off. The clip was filmed around 6 p.m., moments before his 50-foot drop.
“I’m thinking, ‘This is just a professional gymnast or a stunt,’” Astilla reflected when speaking to Local News 8.
The man was flown to the the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake with critical injuries before the news of his death was confirmed. He was reportedly visiting the park with other family members before taking on the sky ride alone.
“The sky ride has operated without incident since 1974,” Lagoon spokesperson Adam Leishman told Local News 8. “Every ride has safety information printed and either recorded or said verbally. And that information is for the safety of the guests.”
Douglas Goldsmith, a child psychologist, told the station that children who saw the fall at the park may “find it difficult to erase that image in their head.”
“You need to really talk about the fact that this wasn’t a problem with the ride at Lagoon,” Goldsmith said about how parents should address the incident with kids.
