Last Updated on May 26, 2019 by CCAR Staff
Castle Park in Riverside re-opened the area Sunday around its still-closed water log ride, where a suspected pump failure caused a crash the day before that left one woman critically injured and two other members of her family with minor injuries.
On Saturday after the 4:45 p.m. incident, the park at 3500 Polk St. remained open, but it closed the log ride, along with a few adjacent rides.
Sunday, only the log ride was closed and the park had reopened the area surrounding it, Michele Wischmeyer, vice president of marketing for Castle Park’s parent company, Palace Entertainment, said in an email.
Officials had said Saturday the park would remain open for business.
There was no immediate response Sunday — middle day of the Memorial Day Weekend –from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which will look into the incident. Wischmeyer said the investigation was still under way.
On Saturday, Riverside Fire Department spokesman Capt. Brian Guzzetta said Castle Park told the agency a water pump for the ride had failed.
That prevented the flow of water onto the ride’s track, and when a log-shaped craft carrying riders came down from one of the falls, there was not enough water to slow it, causing the crash and injuring the woman, a man and a minor child, Guzzetta said.
There was no updated information Sunday on the condition of the woman.
