Civil Trial Starts in Playland Death

Four years ago, a boy died on a gentle boat ride at Rye’s Playland Amusement Park.  The “Old Mill” ride’s boats float through tunnels and past simple scenes.  The boy, Jon-Kely Cassara, apparently became scared and left his boat, getting stuck in the water and drowning.  I posted about the case and his mother’s desire for additional regulatory schemes here (with links to a number of other posts).

His family sued for his death and the trial has started, with the tension between the park’s alleged errors (understaffing, poor training, failure to respond in a timely way, etc.) and the child’s actions in getting out of the ride voluntarily central to the case.  The plaintiff’s opening witness was the then-director of the park, who discussed some of those errors, specifically the understaffing and his assertion that the boy should not have been allowed to ride despite being over the minimum height.

–BC