Amusement Park Death Leads To Murder Conviction
Prosecutors Say Man Short-Circuited Safety Systems

POSTED: 7:28 am EDT May 17, 2005
Associated Press

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. -- A Tennessee jury has convicted an amusement park manager of reckless homicide for the death of a woman who fell from a ride last year.

Charles Stan Martin was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of June Carol Alexander. She died last year after her safety harness became too loose on the ride. She fell 60 feet to the ground.

The jury took just two hours to reach its verdict.

In closing arguments, the prosecution said Martin short-circuited safety systems on the swinging gondola ride at the amusement park in Pigeon Forge because he cared more about selling tickets than protecting the lives of his customers.

The defense blamed the ride's Italian manufacturer.

Park sued over coaster death

May 4, 2005
Associated Press


SANTA CLAUS, Ind. — The father of a woman who was killed when she fell off a southern Indiana roller coaster has sued the amusement park, claiming it was negligent.

The federal lawsuit comes almost two years after officials concluded no criminal charges should be filed because Tamar Fellner fell out when she stood up while the ride was moving at Holiday World.

Fellner, 32, of New York City, was among a group of roller coaster enthusiasts who visited the park in Santa Claus on May 31, 2003. She was seated in the last row of the six-car train on the wooden roller coaster, The Raven, at the park some 40 miles east of Evansville.

Park officials said she fell from the ride while it was in the midst of a 69-foot drop. Witnesses told investigators they saw Fellner standing up in the car as it neared the drop. They also found her seat belt unbuckled when the car returned to the station.

An investigation showed her seat belt and lap bar were buckled and locked when she started the ride. An independent company, LeisureTech Services of Wildwood, N.J., also concluded that Fellner standing during the ride was the only factor contributing to her fall.

But the lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of Fellner’s father, Rabbi Azriel Fellner, alleges the amusement park failed to ensure the woman was properly restrained and that the manufacturer could have used a safer design.

“The cars on roller coasters should be designed in such a way that nobody should be able to fall from them,” Azriel Fellner’s attorney Keith Vonderahe said. “If they’re designed that way, then the (staff) at the park have to make sure that people use them properly.”

Named as defendants were Koch Development Corp. of Santa Claus, which does business as Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, and the roller coaster car’s manufacturer, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Inc. It does not demand a specific amount in damages but says they exceed $75,000.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania because the car’s manufacturer is based in Hatfield, Pa.

After her death, the coaster was inspected and no mechanical deficiencies were found, said Holiday World president William Koch.
“We continue to extend our heartfelt sympathy to the Fellner family,” said Koch, whose family has operated the amusement park since 1946. “This was a tragedy.”

Vonderahe said the fall was an accident, but a preventable one.