Coaster accident still mystery
Victim was at park as part of national enthusiasts' group
By ANDREA PRESTON Courier & Press staff writer prestona@courierpress.com
June 2, 2003
SANTA CLAUS, Ind. - Investigators spent all day Sunday taking apart the Raven roller coaster, trying to determine what caused the first ride-related fatality at Holiday World.
The accident that killed 32-year-old Tamar Fellner of New York City happened at the apex of the ride, which has been rated the world's best wooden roller coaster.
Officials would not speculate about what caused Saturday's accident, but the area of track where Fellner left the ride is known as the "infamous fifth turn," according to one coaster enthusiast.
The park was hosting national roller coaster clubs this weekend for the annual "Stark Raven Mad" event.
Fellner was one of about 850 roller coaster enthusiasts at the park for the event. The accident happened shortly after the park's 8 p.m. closing, when coaster club members were supposed to get exclusive ride time. Officials did not mention whether her membership in the coaster club caused her to do anything unusual during the ride. Fellner was in a coaster car with her fiance, whose name was unavailable. They were members of American Coaster Enthusiasts, a worldwide roller coaster organization that has more than 8,500 members.
Fellner sat on the left side of the rear car of the 24-passenger roller coaster, according to William Koch, the president of the family owned Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
The six-car train had 20 people aboard when it left the station, and everyone was strapped in with both a seat belt and bar restraint, Koch said.
"As soon as they came in, the fiance yelled that something very wrong had happened."
The accident happened near the mid-point of the 90-second ride that is 2,800 feet long, Koch said. It is believed she fell between 60 to 80 feet to the ground - near the highest drop of the ride.
Sean Flaharty, public relations director for the coaster club, said it was the fifth turn where a rider experiences the most lift.
It is that section that both Koch and the Spencer County Police Department believe the accident occurred.
"It's not the steepest drop on the coaster, but we call it the infamous drop," said Flaharty of Columbus, Ohio. "Very few coasters - let alone wooden - have a drop and turn like that in the middle of the coaster."
Fellner suffered massive trauma to her neck and chest region, according to the Rev. Robert Dooley, Spencer County's coroner.
He also responded to the scene as an EMT.
"By the time the ride stopped and she was located, between five to eight minutes had passed," Dooley said, who believed she "was killed instantly."
"There was a surgeon who was in the train - and he, along with our EMTs, went directly to the scene," Koch said.
Fellner was found lying on her side in a grassy area. She was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Huntingburg, a distance of about 16 miles.
On Sunday, representatives from the state's Department of Elevator Safety and local officials spent the day taking apart and conducting tests on the train that Fellner rode in.
The department is responsible for testing the safety on all of Indiana's amusement park rides. A ride cannot run or can be shut down if the department deems it unsafe.
On Saturday, Koch estimated more than 4,800 riders rode The Raven before the fatal ride.
When the news broke of the accident, Flaharty, along with Paul Drabeck of Santa Claus, were among those enthusiasts gathered in the park's back pavilion before Saturday's after-hour events started.
"Everybody was in shock about what happened. (We) just couldn't believe it," said Drabeck, who was so much a fan of the park that his family moved from Chicago to the Santa Claus area a few years ago.
Flaharty said he'd "never seen so many people be so quiet." "I travel (to events) with a large group of people," he said. "And today, everybody was just in shock and numb about the entire event. Our hearts go out to the family and to those at the park. Holiday World has been nothing but great to us."
Since this is the park's first ride-related fatality, Koch said the staff was having a hard time with the death.
"We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and it's affecting our staff," he said. "It's really hard right now. But everyday, it will get easier for us."
More than 500 park employees attended a special grief counseling session Sunday afternoon.
There are 1,100 seasonal employees and 50 year-round employees at the park.
"I just stood there (in the theater) and cried that all these young people wanted to come and grieve together," said Paula Werne, parks spokeswoman. "Most them weren't even in the area when it happened."
Both Flaharty and Drabeck said they wouldn't stop riding the roller coaster.
"I think this park and that roller coaster are the safest around," Drabeck said. "In fact, I plan on riding it the first time it opens back up."
Because of the accident, the park was closed Sunday out of respect to the family. Those who did show up at the park, though, received free tickets to return another day.
The park will reopen this morning, but both The Raven and The Legend, the park's other wooden coaster, will be closed until the investigation is complete.
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari is the nation's first theme park and has been in operation for 58 years.
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