STORM2K

This is terribly sad, but I thought those of us with long hair (myself included) might need to hear about this.



Man killed when hair is caught in fairgrounds ride

LANGLEY -- A man was killed Saturday when his long hair got caught in the amusement park ride he owned, pulling him up as high as 40 feet before he fell, back-first, onto a fence.
Doug McKay, 40, was the co-owner of Paradise Amusements, based in Post Falls, Idaho. He was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the Super Loop 2, a roller coaster-type ride at the Island County Fair on Whidbey Island.

The ride was in progress at the time, and McKay's hair got caught on a car full of fairgoers, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith. He was pulled between 25 and 40 feet into the air.

"It basically scalped him, and he fell and landed on the fence," Smith said.

Hundreds of people witnessed the accident, Smith said, and grief counselors were on hand. It was unclear whether anyone on the ride might have tried to reach McKay.

Paradise Amusements had set up rides at the Island County Fair for the past three years, Smith said.

She said the fair continued after the incident.

Oh my goodness. And just when I was thinking about growing my hair a little longer. :o What a tragic accident.

Sad news for sure...

It is sad people had to witness this also.

That sounds bad, just think what he felt before he hit the fence.

Oh my, what a tragic story!

Yeah, I read about that this morning...after hearing about this yesterday afternoon. How horrible to see anything like this. I can't imagine what the woman in the elevator went through:

Aug. 17, 2003, 11:15AM

Doctor decapitated by faulty elevator at St. Joseph Hospital
By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

An aspiring missionary doctor, who was voted by medical school classmates as the epitome of a good physician, was killed Saturday at Christus St. Joseph Hospital when an elevator malfunctioned, decapitating him, authorities said.

Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, of Dallas, a surgical resident at the hospital at 1919 La Branch, was stepping onto a second-floor elevator in the main building around 9:30 a.m. when the doors closed, pinning his shoulders, said Harold Jordan, an investigator with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. The elevator car then moved upward, severing the doctor's head, Jordan said.

"It is an unexpected and tragic loss," said Dr. Hisashi Nikaidoh, Hitoshi's father, from his Dallas area home. "He is an outgoing and very caring person."

A woman who also works at the hospital was on the elevator at the time and witnessed the accident, police said. Because of the malfunction, she was trapped on the elevator for 15 or 20 minutes before firefighters were able to reach her, police said.

The woman was not injured, but was later taken to the emergency room because she was in shock, said Sgt. Kenneth Perkins of the Houston Police Department's Special Operations Division.

Nikaidoh was on duty at the time and wearing his doctor coat and surgical scrubs when the accident happened, Jordan said.

The scene was one of chaos when police and firefighters first arrived at the hospital, Perkins said. Medical personnel were in disbelief, some crying.

"They were trying to console one another. Just to see other people in disarray -- the looks on their faces pretty much told the whole story," he said.

Police have launched an investigation into the accident. St. Joseph Hospital officials have taken the entire elevator bank out of service, but normal patient services have not been interrupted.

Hospital officials would not answer any questions Saturday about the accident since the investigation has just begun. They also would not reveal the name of the elevator manufacturer.

One worker at the hospital said there had been problems in the past with these particular elevators and that maintenance crews had been trying to service them in the past week, Perkins said.

Nikaidoh was a member of the 2003 class of the University of Texas-Houston Medical School, where he previously served as Student InterCouncil President, the student-leader over six schools within the medical center.

He became a devout Christian while in medical school, his father said. He became a youth group leader and decided to become a missionary doctor.

Hospital spokeswoman India Chumney Hancock would not discuss Nikaidoh's background or how long he had been with the hospital. "In respect for the family, we're not giving out any information," she said Saturday.

"Since the investigation has just begun, we're not answering any questions at this time," she said.

Both city and state inspectors will review the fatal accident, said a licensed elevator inspector who served on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Department advisory board.

"Annual inspections are required, and I'm familiar with that hospital building and know they have a contracted (maintenance) company," said Alan Van Nort, a member of the state's Elevators, Escalators and Related Equipment Advisory Board.

Van Nort said he also is familiar with another hospital elevator accident earlier this year that injured 14 passengers, including 12 patients, at the Intracare Hospital in the Texas Medical Center area. The elevator dropped several floors before jerking to a stop and broke several passengers' bones and hurt backs and necks.

But hospital elevators are not inspected any more intensely than office building elevators, Van Nort said.

"The city has primary responsibility for inspections, and then reports of any incident go to the state for review," he said.

Mignette Yvonne Dorsey, spokeswoman for the City of Houston Building Services, said the city would be tracking the inspections done by the City Planning Department's inspectors. But there was no specific inspection information available from the city Saturday night.

That is so tragic GD...just horrible!!!!

Both stories are so very tragic. They shock you to your core. To witness the man die at the fair must have been terrible to go thru. But your heart really goes out to the woman in the elevator. She was alone in there for what, 20 minutes? OMG is all I can say. You'd almost go out of your mind seeing that doctor decapitated. Makes you stop and think next time you get on an elevator, doesn't it? Make sure the doors open properly first, stay open, until you get in, etc.

Those stories are both horrifying....especially the elevator tragedy. I thought elevators were safe....something I've always taken for granted. I guess in the world we now live, nothing can be taken for granted as safe anymore

These stories are very sad!

Very sad indeed.