ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
A Roanoke County man who said he injured his knee in a 1994 roller coaster accident at the Salem Fair and Exposition is suing two amusement ride companies for $150,000.
Attorneys for Jeffrey T. Manuel filed the lawsuit last month in Roanoke County Circuit Court against two Florida companies, Spectacular Rides of Lakeland and Deggeller Attractions of Stuart.
Deggeller has operated the rides for the Salem Fair since the event began nine years ago and continues in that capacity this year, said Carey Harveycutter, manager of the Salem Civic Center. Deggeller occasionally brings in additional rides owned by other companies, and in 1994 it booked the Zyklon roller coaster from Spectacular Rides.
According to the lawsuit, Manuel was riding the Zyklon on July 3, 1994, when the car he occupied collided with the car in front of it. An inspector quoted in The Roanoke Times & World-News in 1994 said the front car stuck on a braking device designed to slow the roller coaster near the end of the ride. The news report said the cars collided twice before coming to a full stop. The roller coaster was closed for two days after the incident. Three people - a 28-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl - were reported injured at the time of the accident.
The lawsuit accuses the two companies of "carelessly, recklessly and negligently" operating the roller coaster and causing Manuel to suffer permanent injuries and "loss of earning capacity."
Brent Brown, Manuel's attorney, said the 31-year-old truck driver injured his knee but is able to work "with some difficulty."
Deggeller officials did not return phone calls Monday. Cindy Hofeditz, who owns Spectacular Rides with her husband, John, said she had not been informed of the lawsuit.
Although the lawsuit refers to the roller coaster as the "Zyclon," Hofeditz said the correct name is the Zyklon. She said she did not learn until after the roller coaster was named that Zyklon is a cyanide gas. Zyklon B was used in Nazi gas chambers. She declined to comment further on the lawsuit.
Brown said the two companies will be served with the lawsuit within 60 days. He declined to comment on why the suit was filed so near the end of the two-year statute of limitations.
Brown said he represented one other person injured in the accident who already has accepted a settlement for an undisclosed sum.
Harveycutter said Spectacular Rides is not providing rides for this year's fair. He said Deggeller has remained the fair's primary ride provider for a decade because of its "above average safety rate." Deggeller employs its own state-licensed safety inspector to maintain its rides. Virginia also requires local building inspectors to check rides when they are first set up for an event. Salem building officials did not return phone calls Monday.
Although the incident occurred in Salem, Brown said state law allows Manuel to file in the jurisdiction in which he lives because all other parties are based outside of Virginia.
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