A fatal go-kart accident that occurred at Lake Delton amusement park in July might have been avoided. The man’s father is now questioning the safety of the go-kart track.
The accident occurred just days before the man’s 46th birthday when he went to the Lake Delton amusement park with his family. Being a big fan of motorcycles, he was anxious to try out “Alligator Alley Adventures Go-Kart Track.” Unfortunately, the track turned out to be his demise.
His go-cart crashed into a metal guardrail while coming down a hill, which curved and then went through a tunnel. After hitting the guardrail, his go-kart skidded on its side until it ran into a wooden post on the outside of the rail. The man hit the post face-first at a high rate of speed.
The man’s 75-year-old father was also at the park and witnessed the accident. His father watched him bleed to death at the scene.
After the horrific accident, the father asked the track’s owner to either saw the protruding parts of the posts off or cover them so they would be safe. Both men were crying, and he told the owner he did not plan to sue.
A month after the accident, the park is back open, and the father is furious that nothing has been done to remove or cover the wooden posts. The Department of Safety and Professional Services apparently do not see them as a safety hazard, and the father cannot understand why.
State regulations, in regards to go-kart tracks, states that any “pole, post or solid obstruction that may be accidentally struck shall be protected by a resilient, energy-absorbing system.” If this regulation had been enforced, his son might be alive today.
While the father does not plan to sue in this instance, others in similar situations may have filed a wrongful death suit against the park’s owner. While a wrongful death suit cannot bring a loved one back, it can sometimes help with financial issues that might arise from expenses or loss of income related to the death.
Source:
Host.madison.com, “Father of man killed in go-cart crash questions Lake Delton track’s safety” Tim Damos, Aug. 28, 2013
