Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994                   TAG: 9408050087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ZOO CHOO WRECK PROBE CONTINUES

Greg Lyons, president of the Roanoke Valley Jaycees, said the popular miniature train ride will be closed until the organization figures out what caused the freak accident and fixes it. The Jaycees own the train.

"We want to make as sure as possible that what happened a few weeks ago doesn't happen again," he said.

Toward that end, the Jaycees will bring in a miniature-train specialist to examine the Zoo Choo. Lyons declined to identify him, but said the man, from Oklahoma, owns several miniature trains.

In the Friday afternoon accident, the train derailed as it entered a tunnel, and one of its two passenger cars flipped on its side, sending screams from terrified children throughout the normally placid mountaintop zoo.

Three adults and 13 children were taken to emergency rooms at Roanoke Memorial and Community hospitals. All but one were treated and released.

Ed Kawamura, 29, of Vinton suffered a severe cut to his leg and was admitted to Roanoke Memorial.

The Jaycees have operated the train at the zoo since 1953 on land leased from the city. Lyons said the accident was the train's first and that the organization carries a liability insurance policy. He said he's not aware of any lawsuit filed in connection with the accident.

The train's downtime has cost the Jaycees money, Lyons said. It grossed $17,000 in 1993, and "it's fair to say that it takes away a significant source of revenue," he said.