After roller coaster death, a call for law

BUFFALO -- After Army Sgt. James Hackemer, an amputee war veteran, fell to his death off an upstate roller coaster, a lawmaker stepped up a campaign for federal oversight of fixed-site theme parks.

Hackemer, who had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2008, was ejected Friday from the Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park & Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester.

The 208-foot-tall ride remained closed for a third day Monday as investigators looked into the accident. U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), meanwhile, renewed his 12-year-old call for federal oversight at amusement parks, including enabling the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate accidents.

His office Monday said Markey would soon re-introduce legislation he has proposed in every term since 1999, targeting what he calls a "dangerous loophole" that gives the safety commission oversight of traveling carnival rides but not those at permanent parks. Those are the responsibility of the states, which Markey said may lack the resources and experience to carry out effective checks.

The legislation is opposed by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions as unnecessary. That group's statistics show the likelihood of being seriously injured on a permanently located amusement park ride in the United States is 1 in 9 million, spokeswoman Colleen Mangone said.

The state Labor Department, which enforces amusement ride safety in New York, has initiated an investigation into Hackemer's death, while local authorities, including the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, are separately looking into the accident.

It was unknown when results might be available, said Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales, who declined to discuss what the investigation would entail.