Florida teen dies after fall from Mt. Olympus water park slide
By Greg Neumann
Dec 22, 2016
LAKE DELTON (WKOW) -- A 16 year-old boy fell to his death late Wednesday night after climbing up a closed outdoor waterslide at a local amusement park.
Lake Delton Police have yet to identify the teen who died, but said he was staying at the Mount Olympus resort with his family, which was visiting from Florida.
"They'd never experienced the cold and the snow and so they were coming up to ski and enjoy the winter time events that we have here in Wisconsin," said Lake Delton Police Chief Daniel Hardman.
But tragedy struck on a night that began with harmless fun for the teen victim, his brother and another friend.
"They'd been sledding at different locations, but they actually approached a seven foot tall fence that was securely locked and entered the area that was closed and restricted," said Chief Hardman.
The victim then decided to climb on to one of the park's outdoor waterslides despite his brother and friend trying to discourage him.
"He got about halfway down and got stuck in snow that had accumulated on the slide. We're not sure if he was just trying to unstuck himself or if he was trying to stand up, but he did fall approximately 35 feet from that structure on to another slide that was below it," said Chief Hardman.
A paramedic happened to be driving by Mount Olympus when the call went out that a male subject had fallen off a slide and responded immediately. But EMS crews were not able to save the boy.
Chief Hardman said he feels like the fences surrounding the closed areas of the park do provide a reasonable level of safety.
"I mean, you could make the fence ten feet tall, these kids are athletic enough that they could have scaled that. I mean, there is - like I said - there's a point of personal responsibility and I believe the resort owners were well within all safety standards," said Chief Hardman.
But the ultimate decision on that will be made by investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, who will look into the accident.
As for the other two boys involved in the trespassing, they will not be charged with any crime.
"This is tragedy enough," said Chief Hardman. "There would be no point to that."
By Greg Neumann
Dec 22, 2016
LAKE DELTON (WKOW) -- A 16 year-old boy fell to his death late Wednesday night after climbing up a closed outdoor waterslide at a local amusement park.
Lake Delton Police have yet to identify the teen who died, but said he was staying at the Mount Olympus resort with his family, which was visiting from Florida.
"They'd never experienced the cold and the snow and so they were coming up to ski and enjoy the winter time events that we have here in Wisconsin," said Lake Delton Police Chief Daniel Hardman.
But tragedy struck on a night that began with harmless fun for the teen victim, his brother and another friend.
"They'd been sledding at different locations, but they actually approached a seven foot tall fence that was securely locked and entered the area that was closed and restricted," said Chief Hardman.
The victim then decided to climb on to one of the park's outdoor waterslides despite his brother and friend trying to discourage him.
"He got about halfway down and got stuck in snow that had accumulated on the slide. We're not sure if he was just trying to unstuck himself or if he was trying to stand up, but he did fall approximately 35 feet from that structure on to another slide that was below it," said Chief Hardman.
A paramedic happened to be driving by Mount Olympus when the call went out that a male subject had fallen off a slide and responded immediately. But EMS crews were not able to save the boy.
Chief Hardman said he feels like the fences surrounding the closed areas of the park do provide a reasonable level of safety.
"I mean, you could make the fence ten feet tall, these kids are athletic enough that they could have scaled that. I mean, there is - like I said - there's a point of personal responsibility and I believe the resort owners were well within all safety standards," said Chief Hardman.
But the ultimate decision on that will be made by investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, who will look into the accident.
As for the other two boys involved in the trespassing, they will not be charged with any crime.
"This is tragedy enough," said Chief Hardman. "There would be no point to that."
Source
Looks like the kid trespassed and ended up dead. For once it's not the park's fault.