Park City Fire District spokesman Mike Owens has confirmed a young boy fell from the Park City Town Lift on Friday afternoon. Thankfully his injuries were minor as it is reported he only suffered a small laceration on his chin.
KPCW reports the boy fell flat on to the Town Lift Plaza, missing the safety netting in place to prevent riders from dropping onto Park Avenue as the chairlift crosses the street. The boy and his father had only ridden the chairlift for about 20 feet before the accident occurred.
Information is sparse on the accident but an eye witness provided an account on the Park City subReddit and says the safety bar was not down at the time of the fall:
“A young boy did fall off the lift. He was 6 or 7. I tried to catch him but couldn’t make it in time. It was a 25-30 ft belly flop on the hard deck. I stabilized his head with a few others and made sure he was alive and conscious. Then went to catch the mom and daughter as they jumped down from the lift behind. They were both in tears. The dad was stuck too far above on the lift to come down. He was screaming in agony. I can still hear his screams in my head. He couldn’t get the bar down fast enough and his son slipped out. The scene was like a dramatic horror movie.
I watched the entire thing. They don’t stop the lift long enough when you get on to ensure the safety bar is down. The father was holding his poles in one hand and trying to the pull bar down with the other simultaneously when his son slipped out. It was a matter of milliseconds. That should NEVER happen. Why should they be that high off the ground over a hard surface without a safety bar over them?
Proper safety measures could easily be implemented to avoid potential tragedies. It’s as easy as stopping the lift until the safety bar is down and putting possibly putting in locking mechanisms. I firmly believe this happens frequently considering there was ZERO response from anyone employed there. The lift is unsafe and people need to know about it. My hope by posting and being vocal is it’s enough for the people in charge to make the necessary changes. I don’t want people getting hurt trying to make core family memories. Sadly, it’ll probably take a lawsuit with a child in wheelchair before it happens.”
Park City Mountain has not provided any information on the accident.
images from Inspiredmountainvacations
