Top Gun Death: Lawsuit?
Scott Criss
lost his
life near "Top Gun" for the sake of his wife's baseball hat wouldn't
consider
a lawsuit, read on:
___________________________
The San Francisco Chronicle SEPTEMBER 9, 1998, WEDNESDAY, FINAL
EDITION
Victim's Kin Mull Legal Action Against Great America;
Park officials considering different signs
The family of a Hayward man who died in a freak accident Monday at
Paramount's
Great America amusement park has hired an attorney and may consider
legal
action.
And while officials at the Santa Clara park defended their safety
precautions as "reasonable and effective," a spokesman said yesterday
they are
considering putting up new danger signs with pictures to warn
non-English
speakers.
Hector Villegas Mendoza, 24, was struck in the head by the foot of a
passenger on the Top Gun roller coaster after Mendoza slipped into a
fenced-off
area beneath the ride to retrieve his wife's hat, which had blown off
during a
previous ride. Passenger Jessica Medina, 28, of San Jose suffered a
broken leg
in the incident.
San Jose attorney Sid Flores, who met with Mendoza's family
yesterday,
refused to comment on the case. Park officials said they had not been
contacted
by Flores.
* * *
"(This) was a case of somebody who entered into a restricted area
and
climbed a fence . . . resulting in a great tragedy," city spokeswoman
Carol
McCarthy said.
Police and park officials said Mendoza apparently ignored a warning
sign and
entered an area reserved for park employees. He then climbed a six-foot
chain-link fence marked with additional warning signs surrounding the
base of
the roller coaster. As he searched for the hat, a fully loaded train
swept by and Mendoza was hit in the
head by Medina's foot.
Another train roared past Mendoza before park workers spotted him
and
stopped the ride. The Santa Clara County coroner reported that Mendoza
died of
multiple traumatic injuries. The hat, a green baseball cap with the word
"Air"
embroidered on it, is being held as evidence by Santa Clara police.
Police and park officials said Mendoza must have been aware that he
had
entered an area off-limits to park guests.
"We aren't entirely sure how Mr. Mendoza got into the area, but he
went
through a clearly marked gate, and over a six-foot locked fence marked
with
bright red warning signs," Chanaud said. "That's understandable in any
language."
Nevertheless, Chanaud said the park is "looking at putting up
international
signage pictures to describe the danger."
On Top Gun, passengers are strapped to seats that run along an
overhead
track. Passengers frequently drop hats, sunglasses and other personal
items
during the ride; operators inform passengers that belongings can be
retrieved at
the end of the day, after the ride is shut down, or will be mailed to
them. The
ride is halted only if a passenger needs to retrieve something
important, such
as medications or prescription eyeglasses. But Mendoza didn't ask any
park
employees about his wife's hat, Chanaud said.
_______________________________
And those of you who were naive enough to miss the racial animus of
people like
me who think the guy was an idiot should read further:
_______________________________
The San Francisco Chronicle SEPTEMBER 11, 1998, FRIDAY, FINAL
EDITION
Coaster Victim's Death Witnessed by Family
A man who was fatally kicked Monday while retrieving his wife's hat from
beneath
a Great America roller coaster was not alone at the time of his death,
an
attorney for the family said yesterday. The accident was witnessed at
close
range by both his wife and his brother-in-law.
The attorney also disputed claims by park officials that Hector
Mendoza, 25,
climbed a fence to get to the area where he was killed.
"The gate in the (chain-link) fence was either open, or wide enough
to go
through very easily," said San Jose attorney Sidney Flores. "There was
no
climbing or jumping of the fence."
But Tim Chanaud, spokesman for Paramount's Great America, said
yesterday
that the gate in the chain-link fence was clearly locked at the time of
the
accident.
"Two of our employees were the first to respond to the incident, and
the
first thing they had to do to get to the victim was unlock the gate,"
Chanaud
said.
Memorial services were held in San Jose for Mendoza last night.
He died after he, his wife of two months and her brother entered a
restricted area beneath the Top Gun roller coaster seeking a green
baseball cap
that had flown off during their trip on the ride.
According to Flores, the three walked through an unlocked gate
reserved for
park employees, and were then confronted by a six-foot chain-link fence
surrounding the area directly beneath the ride, according to Flores.
As Mendoza went after the cap, a fully loaded train roared down the
track at
about 50 mph, and, as the horrified relatives watched, Mendoza was hit
by a
passenger's leg, which was fractured by the impact.
Santa Clara police appear to back up the claims by park officials.
Spokesman
Sergeant Anton Morec said the gate to the area under the ride was closed
tightly
enough to prevent the employees from immediately entering the area.
"The first maintenance person tried to unlock the gate, but didn't
have the
right key," Morec said. "They had to wait for a second maintenance
person to
arrive."
Morec said police have been unable to fully interview family
members, and
had only heard secondhand that the accident might have been witnessed by
a
family member.
Flores would not identify the family members by name or discuss
their plans,
saying that they need time to mourn. He said there are no immediate
plans to
file a lawsuit against the park.
"We are still investigating all of the circumstances," Flores said.
"No one
has said that there will be a lawsuit.
"What the family needs now is some help in getting through this, and
in
shipping the body back to Mexico," he said. "We need to put this man to
rest."
The case has been discussed at length on Bay Area radio talk shows,
and
Flores said much of the discussion has been racially tinged and hurtful
to the
family.
"One (radio host) said that Mr. Mendoza had a driver's license for
three
years, and thank God he's not still on the road anymore, where he'd be a
danger
to us all," Flores said. "They called him an idiot.
"If this person was not of the ethnic background that he is, they
wouldn't
say that," Flores said. "This is what you hear, instead of any sympathy
for the
family."
_______________________________________
Personally, I don't believe I need to be a Caucasian with a Mensa-level
I.Q.
and an understanding of English to know better than to climb fence and
crawl
around under a rollercoaster.
But that's just me.
- Scott Criss
or
john cline ii
related to the dead man. It appears that the dead man was carrying the ID of a
live Mexican back in Mexico. More details as they become available......
john cline ii who thinks this is one of the stranger things he has ever
seen......
Scott Criss wrote in message <360050...@sprynet.com>...
john cline ii
In fact the dead man has been identified as Renato Celin Suarez Robles, 25, a
citizen of Mexico. The family that contacted the attorney last week is NOT
related to the dead man.
john cline ii who will watch this one with great interest
Dave Althoff
: ER, it appears that the family that was CONSIDERING filing the suit is not
: related to the dead man. It appears that the dead man was carrying the ID of a
: live Mexican back in Mexico. More details as they become available......
: john cline ii who thinks this is one of the stranger things he has ever
: seen......
Which, of course, if true, could make the attorney filing the suit one of
the slimier creatures out there...given that the man's identity may not be
positively identified, is his relationship to the "kin" present at the
time of the incident also established? I hate to suggest that they are
mere opportunists attempting to cash in on this idiot's misfortune in
attempting to recover his own hat..............
This story gets stranger every time I read it. Do parks now need to
insure that the first person dispatched to an incident scene is a
videographer to document such things as who opened which lock when?
Does PGA use the same procedure as I have heard about at at least one
Paramount park (though not personally verified), where the same key that
opens the kill-zone padlocks also operates the ride controls, so that the
ride *cannot* be active when the gates are being opened? Or is that
practice only a myth?
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
--
/^\ _ _ *** Still open weekends!!! ***
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/XXXXX\ /XXX\ _/XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
john cline ii
Kip Ross wrote in message <36007e62...@news.mindspring.com>...
>On Wed, 16 Sep 1998 21:13:27 -0400, "john cline ii"
><jwciit...@gte.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>In fact the dead man has been identified as Renato Celin Suarez Robles, 25, a
>>citizen of Mexico. The family that contacted the attorney last week is NOT
>
>
>--man dies in presence of wife
er, no. It was said she was his intended.....
>--man is not who his ID claims
right, according to what I read in the San Francisco papers....
>--the family of the man alive whose ID was being used wants to sue
yes, but they apparently did not realise he was alive.....and they only
consulted an attorney.....not filed suit
>--wife of dead man is not suing
er, I haven't heard this one. That WOULD be a news story. Kind of like Man
bites dog!
>
>Is that somewhat correct? I sure hope not, because if it is...well,
>that just make things even more confusing!
>
>I smell a TV movie... :-)
I still smell legal action, unfortunately......
john cline ii who wonders when people will ever take responsibility for their
own actions. Under the rules of an association of which I am a member, I must
state that there is no legal advice contained above. To the extent there is, no
warranties, express or implied are offered. If you have a legal problem or
question, you should consult competent legal counsel in your jurisdiction......
Kip Ross
<jwciit...@gte.net> wrote:
>
>In fact the dead man has been identified as Renato Celin Suarez Robles, 25, a
>citizen of Mexico. The family that contacted the attorney last week is NOT
>related to the dead man.
Huh? I'm thoroughly confused!
--man dies in presence of wife
--man is not who his ID claims
--the family of the man alive whose ID was being used wants to sue
--wife of dead man is not suing
Is that somewhat correct? I sure hope not, because if it is...well,
that just make things even more confusing!
I smell a TV movie... :-)
DDZone
>And while officials at the Santa Clara park defended their safety
>precautions as "reasonable and effective," a spokesman said yesterday
>they are
>considering putting up new danger signs with pictures to warn
>non-English
>speakers
If I ever went to a park in another country and did'nt speak the language and
could'nt read signs posted, common sense would tell me not to enter an area
where a mutiple ton ride was operating. Now because of some jackass's stupidity
I guess parks are going to be forced to add more safety precautions.
"There is no common sense,because if it was so common everyone would have it"
Dean Franzone
DDZone@aol
coaste...@yahoo.com
> I smell a TV movie... :-)
>
> -Kip-
> kip...@mindspring.com
>
And one of the parties involved is affiliated with a major movie studio...
Do I smell conflict of interest?
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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Enjoralas
>The hat, a green baseball cap with the word
>"Air"
>embroidered on it, is being held as evidence by Santa Clara police.
Uhm, is the word "air" a real word in the Spanish language? I took French,
so I honestly don't know. Cause if it's not, and said victim (or one of his
associates) was wearing a hat with this simple English word on it, one would
think that someone in the party must have known what it meant. Is it too much
to assume then, that this person, who understands the word "air" in English,
might also understand at the very least several other simple words, like, oh,
maybe "keep" and "out"?
Personally, and this is my opinion, what I think we have here is an idiot
who could read the signs, or at the very least understood what they meant, and
thinking "Nothing will happen to ME!" went after the hat anyway, realising he
could use the language barrier as an excuse if he were caught in the
restricted area. WHat he didn't count on is coming in contact with the leg of a
woman, a poor woman who has now suffered through a great and tragic experience
due entirely to the ignorance and st upidity of one man.
Walt Breymier
Todd Long
>Huh? I'm thoroughly confused!
>
>--man dies in presence of wife
>--man is not who his ID claims
>--the family of the man alive whose ID was being used wants to sue
>--wife of dead man is not suing
>
>Is that somewhat correct? I sure hope not, because if it is...well,
>that just make things even more confusing!
>
>
II: Mr. Greens Jeans goes to LongWorld" starring Wayne Newton as me,
Morgan Fairchild as Cousin Eds wife and Mr. Green Jeans as himself.
See ya in the gift shop!
Todd Long LongWorld USA
Disclaimer: If after reading this post you suddenly feel the
urge to come to LongWorld PLEASE E-mail first for the lastest
info.
Shawn Mamros
> Uhm, is the word "air" a real word in the Spanish language? I took French,
>so I honestly don't know. Cause if it's not, and said victim (or one of his
>associates) was wearing a hat with this simple English word on it, one would
I wouldn't jump to that assumption. Does anyone remember (or did it take
place sufficiently long ago that the younger members of this group wouldn't
remember) the fad of several years back where kids in the US would wear
shirts (and perhaps other clothing) that had Japanese writing on them?
I'm willing to bet 99% of the kids who wore those had no idea what the
writing on their clothing actually said (if it said anything at all; it
could've been complete nonsense writing for all I know. No, I didn't
wear any such clothes myself...).
I also remember hearing that the fad also took place in reverse - some
Japanese kids wore clothing with English words on them - the words were
real, but they were strung together into nonsense phrases/sentences.
For the record, I can't recall "air" being a common Spanish word, but
my last Spanish lesson was over 15 (!) years ago, and I've forgotten most
of what I learned of it.
-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mam...@mit.edu
Scott Criss
>
> ER, it appears that the family that was CONSIDERING filing the suit is not
> related to the dead man. It appears that the dead man was carrying the ID of a
> live Mexican back in Mexico. More details as they become available......
>
> john cline ii who thinks this is one of the stranger things he has ever
> seen......
That's not how I read the articles. I assume that the man, whatever his
real name was, appropriated the identity before he left Mexico, and has
since married the woman who is presently his wife (according to more
than one article, they were married a couple of months ago). It is the
the grieving widow and her brother, the dead man's brother-in-law, who
are "the family" considering legal action. Obviously, the guy who is
still alive in Mexico adn his familty have nothing to do with any of it.
Cheers! - msc
Scott Criss
>
> ER, it appears that the family that was CONSIDERING filing the suit is not
> related to the dead man. It appears that the dead man was carrying the ID of a
> live Mexican back in Mexico. More details as they become available......
>
> john cline ii who thinks this is one of the stranger things he has ever
> seen......
That's not how I read the articles. I assume that the man, whatever his
real name was, appropriated the identity before he left Mexico, and has
since married the woman who is presently his wife (according to more
than one article, they were married a couple of months ago). It is the
the grieving widow and her brother, the dead man's brother-in-law, who
are "the family" considering legal action. Obviously, the guy who is
still alive in Mexico and his family have nothing to do with any of it.
Cheers! - msc
john cline ii
Scott Criss wrote in message <3601A6...@sprynet.com>...
>john cline ii wrote:
>>
>> ER, it appears that the family that was CONSIDERING filing the suit is not
>> related to the dead man. It appears that the dead man was carrying the ID of
a
>> live Mexican back in Mexico. More details as they become available......
>>
>> john cline ii who thinks this is one of the stranger things he has ever
>> seen......
>
>real name was, appropriated the identity before he left Mexico, and has
>since married the woman who is presently his wife (according to more
>than one article, they were married a couple of months ago). It is the
>the grieving widow and her brother, the dead man's brother-in-law, who
>are "the family" considering legal action. Obviously, the guy who is
>
>Cheers! - msc
Well, that DOES make a lot more sense! Let's keep watching this one.......
john cline ii who is always happy when someone splains something to him!
micheal hill
it.
BikerBuck
>In fact the dead man has been identified as Renato Celin Suarez Robles, 25, a
>citizen of Mexico. The family that contacted the attorney last week is NOT
Only in America...
Quadrajet1
> Another train roared past Mendoza before park workers spotted him
>and stopped the ride. The Santa Clara County coroner reported that Mendoza
word
>"Air" embroidered on it, is being held as evidence by Santa Clara police.
Damn... After all this trouble, she still ain't got her hat back yet.
Ida McIntyre
"AIR", I would assume, refers to Nike. Nike is known worldwide ... in
Spanish or not and is just a fashion fad. It doesn't necessarily mean
the guy could speak English. (Not that I'm sticking up for this moron
or anything!)