A rider on the roller coaster at Lagoon suffered a broken arm Monday when he was struck by a board, according to Farmington Police.
The man's injured arm was set in surgery at Lakeview Hospital and he is in good condition, police reported.The accident occurred about 4 p.m., and police and Lagoon officials are still investigating how the board on the ride came loose. One report is that a rider ahead of the victim was standing up in the coaster car and struck a sign with his hand, knocking it loose, police said.
The sign came back and struck the victim, whom police identified as Frank Greco, 18, Elko, Nev.
Paramedics from the county sheriff's department were called to extricate the victim and transport him to the hospital. The victim also suffered some lacerations to his arm, which police said led doctors to believe the fracture may have been more severe than it was, prompting the surgery.
Dick Andrew, Lagoon's director of information, said the accident is under investigation. He said the victim was struck by a 2-by-6-inch board that was part of the cross-member support structure of the roller coaster. The board came loose from an area on the coaster's turn on the west end and apparently struck the victim while the coaster car was on the second level.
"We know where it came from. The question now is how," Andrew said.