Amusement Park Operator Killed in Washington State When Hair Caught on Ride
LANGLEY, Wash. (AP) - An amusement park operator was killed Saturday when his hair got caught on a roller coaster car, pulling him up as high as 40 feet before he fell, back-first, onto a fence.
Doug McKay, 40, was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the Super Loop 2, a ride at the Island County Fair on Whidbey Island, when his long hair got caught on a car full of fairgoers, sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Smith said.
"It basically scalped him, and he fell and landed on the fence," Smith said.
McKay, co-owner of Paradise Amusements, based in Post Falls, Idaho, was pulled between 25 and 40 feet into the air.
Paradise Amusements had set up rides at the Island County Fair, located about 30 miles northwest of Seattle, for the past three years, Smith said.
Smith said grief counselors were on hand but that the fair continued after the incident.
What a way to go . . .