Laura Knop
7/17/2010
It could be two months or more before we find out what caused the "Scorpion" ride to blow apart at the Stampede Friday night, injuring ten teens and sending six of them to hospital.
A pod on the ride flew off shortly before 9pm sending riders plunging to the ground.
Chris Tye, Executive Director of Safety Services for Alberta Municipal Affairs tells QR77 News the formal investigation will not start until Monday. He says the ride will be examined on-site by AEDARSA, the Alberta Elevating Devices and Amusement Rides Safety Association. It will also likely be inspected by the insurance company, the manufacturer and by third party engineers. Once all the on-site inspections are complete, the ride will be moved to another location, where it will be subject to further scrutiny.
The investigation is expected to take approximately one month to conclude. A final report will then be prepared, which will take another month to complete. That report will then be made available to the chief inspector and finally to the minister of Municipal Affairs.
Tye says once it is determined what happened, the government will decide whether to lay charges under the Safety Codes Act, which carries of a penalty of a $15,000 fine or six months imprisonment for a first offense. He says the act holds the manufacturer, the owner and the operator of equipment responsible, so at this point, he does not believe the Stampede would be held liable.
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