Iowa Amusement Park Ride Where Boy Died Won’t Open This Year
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The new owners of an Iowa amusement park say a water ride where a boy died last year will not reopen this summer. Bill Lentz, general manager of Adventureland in Altoona, said the park officials are still discussing whether the Raging River ride will ever reopen. Eleven-year-old Michael Jaramillo died and his brother and father were injured after their raft capsized, trapping them in the water. Plentz said the new park owner, Palace Entertainment, has hired the ride’s original maker, Intamin Amusement Rides, to exam what steps would be needed to make the ride safe. That review could take several months.
A ride at an Iowa amusement park where an 11-year-old boy died last summer will not reopen this year, the park's new owners said.
Bill Lentz, general manager of Adventureland in Altoona, said officials have not determined if the Raging River ride will ever reopen, The Des Moines Register reported.
Michael Jaramillo died and his brother and father were injured on July 3, 2021, after their raft overturned and trapped them in the water.
Park owner Palace Entertainment has hired the ride's original maker, Intamin Amusement Rides, to determine what would be needed to make the ride safe, Lentz said. That project could take several months, he said.
Palace Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of Madrid-based Parques Reunidos, bought the almost 48-year-old theme park in December.
Ryan Best, the attorney representing the Jaramillo family, of Marion, Iowa, said recently his clients believe the ride should never be reopened.
The Iowa Division of Labor, which licenses amusement park rides, required Adventureland to make several changes and receive approval from the ride's manufacturer or a certified engineer to reopen the ride.
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