Girl injured by Ocean City boardwalk ride, operator fired

     The Ocean City boardwalk. (Photo: kjarrett via Flickr)

    The Ocean City boardwalk. (Photo: kjarrett via Flickr)

    A ride operator has been fired after a 4-year-old girl was injured at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City Sunday, state officials say. 

    An investigation has determined that operator error is to blame, The Press of Atlantic City reports

    “The injured individual was on the platform when the ride started,” Lisa M. Ryan, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, said in a statement. “There are conflicting reports about whether she was in the ride vehicle and exited the ride prior to it starting or if she entered the platform after the ride was loaded. The park has reported to us that the operator was terminated.”

    Ocean City Patch describes the Speedway ride as “a low-speed children’s attraction in which cars move around a small oval track.”

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    The injured child’s mother, Tiffany Witt of Marlton, tells WPVI that the ride pinned and dragged her daughter, who suffered bruising and has a cast on her leg.

    The child’s uncle tells the television station that he witnessed the incident.

    “What I saw was her actually being dragged from at least 10, 15 feet on the platform. I’m not sure if they saw her or if they secured her in the car, or if they did one last check before they started the ride. But before I knew it, we ended up having to lift the car up to get her out from underneath of it,” he said.

    The ride was reopened after an inspection and operational test revealed no mechanical problems, according to The Press of Atlantic City report. 

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    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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