Coroner to rule on Royal Adelaide Show ride death
A coroner is set to hand down findings into the death of an eight-year-old girl who was flung from a ride at the Royal Adelaide Show in 2014.
Adelene Leong, who was on holiday from Malaysia, died when she was thrown from the Airmaxx 360 ride at the show as her horrified mother looked on.
While on the ride, she slipped out of restraints and was flung into the air before landing on the ground headfirst.
She died from multiple injuries but a rapid deceleration injury to the brain alone was enough to kill her.
At the start of the inquest into her death, counsel assisting Sally Giles said that “what took place was nothing short of horrendous for everyone who witnessed it”.
“[The ride] was unsafe, and a tragedy waiting to happen,” she said.
Giles also noted that Airmaxx 360 was the first of its kind to be imported into Australia in 2013, but did not undergo a required design registration process, using instead the certification for a similar ride.
The ride’s operators imposed a minimum height requirement of 120cm, despite the manufacturer recommending 140cm.
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Adelene was 137cm tall at the time of her death.
The company that operated the ride, C, J & Sons Amusements Pty Ltd and one of its directors Jenny-Lee Sullivan were convicted over breaches to safety laws but escaped big fines because of their precarious financial position.
Deputy State Coroner Ian White will deliver his findings into the girl’s death on Tuesday afternoon.
– AAP
