Amusement park visitor dangles off ride before fatal 50-foot plunge, Utah police say

Shocked visitors spotted a man dangling from a chair-lift ride Saturday at Lagoon Amusement Park in Utah, a video shows.

The video shows the man calmly hanging from a chair on the ride, which carries visitors from one of the Farmington park to the other, seeming to make no effort to call for help or climb back up, KIFI reported.

The 32-year-old man later fell 50 feet from the ride and was airlifted to a Salt Lake City hospital in critical condition, KSL reported. Farmington police were notified Monday he had died.

“We don’t know why he did that or what was going on,” Police Chief Wayne Hansen told the station. “We just don’t know.”

The man visited the amusement park with his family, but got on the chair lift ride alone, KIFI reported. Police and park officials said there’s no sign the ride malfunctioned.

In a statement, Lagoon Amusement Park said it was “saddened” by the incident, KTVX reported.

“The Sky Ride has been operating at Lagoon, without incident at the park, since 1974,” park spokesman Adam Leishman told KUTV. “Every ride on the park undergoes intense safety inspections. This received an inspection Saturday morning.”

A precursor to the 95-acre amusement park opened in 1886, according to its site. The park now includes a number of roller coasters, thrill rides and water rides.

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Amusement park visitor dangles off ride before fatal 50-foot plunge, Utah police say."