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Screams were real on errant roller-coaster ride yesterday at Paramount's Kings Dominion. Date published: 6/24/2006
By RUSTY DENNEN Two people were injured yesterday in a roller-coaster accident at Paramount's Kings Dominion that left some passengers sitting on the ride for more than two hours. Susan L. Storey, spokeswoman for the amusement park in Doswell, said the accident on the Volcano: The Blast Coaster is under investigation. Officials don't know why a car carrying 15 passengers malfunctioned. It was one of two cars that run along 2,700 feet of track. "One guest had some kind of laceration on his leg," Storey said, and was sent to VCU Medical Center in Richmond. A 12-year-old boy complaining of pain in his foot also was taken to the VCU hospital. Their conditions were not available last night. Passengers also described seeing a man with cuts on his face. Robert Tesseneer, 26, of Charlotte, N.C., his wife, Regina, 25, and his 12-year-old nephew, Antonio Ramero, were among those on the car. The three got in and everything seemed normal, Tesseneer said, until the car entered the point where it is launched up through the "mountain." "I heard a loud pop and there was stuff flying. I got hit with something on the chin and forehead," Tesseneer said. The car slowed, then stopped and, fortunately for the riders, ended upright. That section of track is more than 20 feet off the ground. Tesseneer said his nephew was complaining of pain in his leg. "This is not cool," he said. The family had come to the park from North Carolina to celebrate Ramero's upcoming birthday. Tesseneer spoke to a reporter by cell phone as he was waiting to be taken off the ride. He said his nephew was taken down and seated in a wheelchair. Within about 30 minutes after the accident, park workers and the Hanover County Fire Department were unbuckling riders and lowering them to the ground in a lift. The last rider was taken off the car at 7:23 p.m. After all were safely down, they were checked by medical workers and interviewed by park staffers. The ride was closed after the incident and will remain closed until safety officials determine what caused it to malfunction, Storey said. This is the first accident on the Volcano since it opened in 1998. "It's one of our more popular rides," Storey said. The roller coaster launches riders out of the top of the mountain at speeds of up to 70 mph. There are also an 80-foot drop and four inversions. Storey, who's been at Kings Dominion for about a year, said the park has an "excellent" safety record. "We've had some incidents in the past, but nothing like this." To reach RUSTY DENNEN:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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