Sandusky police investigating accident at Cedar Point near Raptor

This wasn't a simple mistake, he was trespassing and went to considerable lengths to do so. This wasn't an easy hop over a decorative split rail fence but a purposeful and difficult climb after ignoring warning signs.

I feel terrible for his family and also his students, now that it has become known that he was a teacher.

His willful disregard caused a great deal of pain for others but it wasn't a random accident. He carelessly broke the rules and caused his own death, leaving family, friends, students, CP employees and guests to deal with it.

I'm probably going to regret getting back into this thread, but whatever.

I think the main hazy area here is the difference between attacking the man himself and attacking the poor decision that ultimately killed him. You can acknowledge that the person was a great guy with a job doing great things but still admit that a very stupid mistake cost him his life.

Granted, there's tactful ways to say that and callous ways to say that, and there's definitely been both of them in this thread.

Another thing to consider is that yes, never speak ill of the dead, but the fact that he died doesn't automatically absolve him of responsibility, make the decision to hop over the fence no longer stupid, nor make it someone else's fault. If he were simply injured and not killed, I feel like that would change the reactions a bit.

You just have to call out stupid. And it's just as pointless to pretend it's anything but stupid. Poorly thought out, uninformed decision, at the end of the day they're still euphemistic ways to say 'he made a stupid decision'. If he were someone I knew, family, friends, or otherwise, I would still think that "Yes, he was a great person, but that was an incredibly stupid and incredibly preventable way to go out".

Dancing around the issue of individual responsibility doesn't help anything and hasn't helped anything.

does anyone know where he got in? it looks like he was hit at the very end of the ride that seems to be pretty secure with fencing.

Pete said:

I wonder why they called in Sandusky PD, CPPD probably is fully capable of investigating this themselves. I heard of some new arrangement where CP gets some Sandusky services in exchange for something, maybe some funding of something in Sandusky. I think they get Sandusky EMS now, maybe they also get some police services?

I can't say for CPPD, but this year the Sandusky Fire/EMS is called every time they need a transport and the City of Sandusky is billing Cedar Point the regular rates. The ambulance that the park has only gets used in situations where Sandusky is otherwise occupied (or if it is needed at "off Point" properties such as the employee dorms). I haven't heard about an exchange, but that doesn't mean that an agreement wasn't made to cover the costs.

Also, Sandusky PD may have already been in the area because they were assisting in the recovery of a body found off the breakwall. Though, that body was discovered around 9AM.

campfreak06 said:

I'm sorry, but to everyone making jokes about this tragedy...Shame on you. A man lost his life here and regardless of his recklessness, we should show him some respect.

Agree....but if you've ever dealt with anyone in emergency services (EMT, Firefighter, Police) we have a morbid sense of humor, it is part of the way we cope with some of the situations we deal with.

It's not often, but we do see some hard to deal with issues.

In looking at this with my risk management hat it is easy to jump to the conclusion that signs are posted, the chain link fence is high and, therefore, the park has done all the right things. In looking at the photo of the area behind the restaurant a little closer it appears to me that there is a particular spot where the decorative railing fence meets up with the chain link fence and butts up against it. No idea if this gentleman got in this way or not but it appears it would be pretty easy to jump on top of the decorative railing and then vault off the top of it over the chain link without as much effort as scaling the chain link alone.

Either way, if the victim intended to go over that fence the lack of the railing nearby would not likely have changed that. Still, I would take a look at mitigating that risk a little more if I'm the park staff.

As a 45 year old man I can't quite come to understand the thought process of jumping that fence. But, as a 20-something man I can. I once lost my hat in the helix of the Mine Ride. I actually had my hands on the fence ready to scale it when I saw a staff member walking nearby and I thought better of it. Had it been a $300 phone I might have jumped over. I'd like to say definitively that I would not have, but....

What has been missing in many of these posts has been concern for the staff members who were first on scene. This is traumatic for them as well and this is something that they won't easily forget. I've mentioned before that I was on the scene in the immediate aftermath of a Geauga Lake accident where we did not have fatalities but we had injuries. When I think about it on days like today it brings those difficult memories back up. Whenever I think about that ride the accident comes back into my mind.

I also want to pass on my thoughts and concerns for Bryan Edwards. His job is, by and large, an incredibly positive, fun and exciting responsibility. Yesterday and in the days to come it is going to be the exact opposite of that and this is going to weigh heavily on him too for a while.

Finding out he was a special education teacher leaves me that much more puzzled as to what was going through his mind when he decided to enter the area. In special ed we spend so much time teaching our students to follow instructions and signs because we know they don't always have the ability to make good decisions on their own. As someone who has lost a family member because they did something stupid I can say once the shock of it all is over and the funeral is done and they are left to put everything back together they are going to be having angry thoughts toward their family member for his lack of judgement. I know we have and I also hate when I have to try to explaining how the person died to someone I don't know well because as much as we love and miss him it was stupid and his own fault. It didn't have to happen.

Stacys said:

campfreak06 said:

I'm sorry, but to everyone making jokes about this tragedy...Shame on you. A man lost his life here and regardless of his recklessness, we should show him some respect.

Agree....but if you've ever dealt with anyone in emergency services (EMT, Firefighter, Police) we have a morbid sense of humor, it is part of the way we cope with some of the situations we deal with.

It's not often, but we do see some hard to deal with issues.

The morbid sense of humor is necessary. My husband has been a medic for 20 years and has seen so many awful things. There's no way to deal with it all without making it unreal in your mind somehow. It seems callous and uncaring to people not in the field but they don't understand because they haven't seen those things. Over, and over and over...

I was planning to go today at the Park. The Raptor will be Closed. Do you think any other rides will be close like the Blue Streak that is close by the Raptor?

Doubt it. Probably just Raptor. I can't see it being closed too long either.

I woke up this morning hoping it was a nightmare. The loss of a human life is tragic no matter the circumstances.

Here is a link to his Facebook profile.

https://www.facebook.com/jim.young.77377?fref=ts

It is an all around horrible situation for everyone involved. I can't imagine what was going through his mind when he decided to do this. At a minimum you get kicked out of the park, possible prosecution, etc. And well we didn't even see the maximum as other guests were not injured or killed. He was much to old to be even trying this crap. I am very sad for everyone there at the park along with his family.

Considering all of the stupid mistakes I've made in my life, I'm quite lucky and grateful not to have had my life snuffed out for a spur of the moment choice I took.

It's just sad. A sad time for the park, a sad fate for a human being who made an unfortunate decision, and a terrible loss for his loved ones. My thoughts go out to his family.

I think it will be quite some time before I ride Raptor again. Not because of what happened yesterday, but because last week when my daughter and I rode it my restraint wasn't tight enough. I kept trying to pull it against my body, as I had done so many times in the past, but it would not stay. The ride op gave it a quick tug and went on to the next person so I assumed it was fine. But once we passed the lift hill I could feel my body pulling away from the back of the seat. I wrapped my arms around the restraint and crossed them so I could pull it against me and reduce the amount of give. When we were done I remarked to my daughter that it wasn't a fun ride and when I told her why she said that hers felt loose as well.

According to this post, Raptor will be open today!

Webcams are back online as well.

I'm with Ensign.....I'm pretty sure we've all made mistakes/bad decisions in life that could have cost us our lives or serious injury. Whether its been taking a curve to fast, taking that leap from the rock cliffs, or anything else, as humans we tend to have that "it won't happen to me" attitude, but eventually it does happen to someone. It doesn't make him a bad person, an idiot, or an a-hole. He's just a man that made a poor, very ill-fated decision.

Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved.

Great posts Ensign and Tennessee! I know it's easy to criticize other people's mistakes, but so many us would throw a fit if someone criticized something we did when we didn't have our thinking caps on.

jsmith7300 said:

When we were done I remarked to my daughter that it wasn't a fun ride and when I told her why she said that hers felt loose as well.

The Raptor restraints don't have to press down on your body, it's okay if the restraint is a little loose. The mechanism has "clicks" that lock it, because of body proportions it may feel a little loose because your body size falls right between the "clicks". No danger of falling out at all.

And yes, Raptor will open today.

In terms of the fence, here's a photo I took of the Raptor-equivalent (Afterburn) at Carowinds. Notice the fence has barbed wire. Not sure if the regulations in South Carolina are different or would require this. I'm guessing the fence dates back to the Paramount days.