Cedar Point Accident: Shoot The Rapids Water Ride Under Investigation After 7 Injured At Ohio Amusement Park

Inspectors are trying to determine why seven people were injured in an accident on a water ride at the Cedar Point amusement park on Friday after their log flume boat flipped over.

It’s unclear whether Ohio inspectors have finished their investigation, but Cedar Point spokesman Bryan Edwards told the Associated Press that inspectors and officials from the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park are part of the investigation into the Shoot the Rapids water ride. While the ride was closed as of Saturday, the rest of Cedar Point was open.

Also unclear is what caused the accident, which began when the log flume rolled backward down a hill and flipped over in the water. Seven people on the ride were injured in the accident, although none of them seriously.

Six of the seven Cedar Point accident victims were treated at the scene, while one was taken to a local hospital, according to AP.

Park visitors who witnessed the water ride accident told their stories to the Sandusky Register.

“We heard a snap and then a clunk, and then it was the loudest noise, like an explosion,” said Pennsylvania resident Emily Capezzuto, who was at the park Friday and was on the log flume ahead of the one that flipped over. “Then it slid down the hill and flipped on its side.”

Capezzuto’s mother, Keri Capezzuto, jumped out of her log flume and helped turn the boat over. Keri Capezzuto said she was injured while assisting with the accident. “It ruined our whole day,” she told the Register. “We’re pretty shaken up.”

Keri Capezzuto said she injured her knee but didn’t feel the pain until after paramedics treated her.

“I didn’t even realize I hurt myself until after, when the adrenaline stopped,” she said. “Then I realized I hurt my knee pretty bad. I just wanted to make sure everyone was OK first.”

Another witness, Heather Brown, said of those injured, “There was blood everywhere. It was so scary.”

Some witnesses rushed to the scene to aid the injured.

“One of the cars ... came down off that hill, and people were still in it,” witness Matthew Orr, 26, said. “They were trapped. We jumped in and helped them get out. If we didn’t help, I don’t even know what would have happened.”

Orr told the Register that it took about nine or 10 people to pull the log flume car up after it tipped over, adding that children who were on the Shoot the Rapids ride “appeared scared to death.”

Officials at Cedar Point, which was named Best Amusement Park in the World by the trade publication Amusement Today in 2012, gave the following statement about the incident: “Rider operators stopped the Shoot the Rapids ride after a boat rolled back down the lift hill. At the bottom of the hill is a water chute, a few feet deep, with slow-moving water propelling the boat from the station. Concrete parapets are on both sides of the water chute.”

The Sandusky amusement park added that safety was its biggest priority for its customers.

“Cedar Point officials are currently investigating the incident and have reported it to state of Ohio officials,” the park said in a statement. “Shoot the Rapids will remain closed until park officials and inspectors from the state of Ohio complete their review. No further information is available at this time.”