Rodeo ride tied to death won’t return next year, but carnival operator will [Houston Chronicle]

Dec. 27--The Hi Miler roller coaster, from which a Houston man fell to his death at this year's rodeo, will not return in 2012.

But the Arizona company that owns the amusement will be back to run next year's midway of rides and games, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo COO Leroy Shafer confirmed.

The rodeo official lauds the reputation of the coaster's owner, Ray Cammack Shows, but a federal investigative report into the death of Brian Greenhouse faults the company, saying it misrepresented the portable ride's safety record and failed to document or release previously reported malfunctions.

If the 47-year-old fell because the safety latch on his seat came loose, it would not be the first time a restraint malfunction was reported to the ride's attendants, carnival officials or rodeo personnel, according to the report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In an 843-page investigative report, the commission made troubling discoveries about the ride, its safety record and oversight:

In the last two years, there were at least eight reports of restraints moving out of place. A list of previous lap bar complaints provided to federal investigators by Ray Cammack Shows reports only three incidents.

There were four previous reports of restraint malfunctions at the 2011 rodeo, including one the same day Greenhouse fell.

When patrons tried to report lap bar problems, some of the ride attendants didn't seem to understand English.

The ride was dismantled before the federal agency started its probe two days after the fall.

The initial report to Texas amusement regulators reported the fatal fall as an injury -- not a death.

The roller coaster's safety became the subject of a Houston-based wrongful death lawsuit after Greenhouse plunged 30 feet to his death on March 20. Greenhouse, an AT&T supervisor and father of a young son, died from multiple impact trauma, including internal head injuries.

His survivors have sued the carnival company and the rodeo, claiming that Greenhouse fell because the seat locking mechanism became unlatched during the ride. The lawsuit also contends that the death was caused by preventable operational and mechanical errors.

"I think it's very telling that while (Ray Cammack Shows) is coming back, they're not bringing the ride back. If their contention is that there's nothing wrong with the ride, then why aren't they bringing it back?" said Tony Taft, one of the lawyers representing Greenhouse's survivors. "To be on notice of a history of problems with this roller coaster and to bring that same outfit back to Houston, it kind of shows little regard for the safety and welfare of the citizens."

Ray Cammack Shows defended the Hi Miler but said returning with the ride would amount to a distraction at this year's rodeo.

"The Hi Miler ride has successfully ridden millions of patrons throughout the West. It continued to operate safely at other events following the 2011 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, and successfully passed every inspection by independent and government inspectors.

"The Harris County medical examiner found an intoxication level in the patron almost twice that allowed for driving a vehicle. The Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the incident without recalls or operational restrictions. Following their investigation the Houston Police Department described the incident as a 'tragic accident,' " the statement said.

An autopsy report from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences showed that Greenhouse had a .11 blood alcohol level.

Ride dismantled

The Hi Miler has been part of the Ray Cammack Shows' midway since 1982. The ride has two five-car trains. Greenhouse was alone in the front car of the blue train.

Investigators could not determine the cause of Greenhouse's fall, in part, because the ride was taken down before the agency began its probe on March 22. Lawyers for Greenhouse's survivors, the carnival and the ride's insurers, along with rodeo representatives, inspected the portable coaster before it was dismantled. Federal investigators obtained documentation from those reviews.

The report also criticizes omissions and discrepancies in carnival documents and statements from representatives as well as the ride owner's early conclusion that Greenhouse was responsible for falling.

The roller coaster's restraint system is a woven lap belt that rests against a person's body and a metal gripping bar that locks over each seat. According to the report, Ray Cammack Shows explained that the restraint is not meant to ratchet down tightly against the body or hold someone in if the ride becomes inverted. There is no signature on the carnival operator's incident summary, which makes it unclear who wrote that report or who collected the information.

The report was especially critical of the way the carnival operator deemed the ride ready to run after each assembly and following malfunction reports. Ray Cammack Shows relies on experienced inspectors, none of whom are professional engineers, the federal probe found.

Investigators also questioned why the fall was initially reported as an injury with a pre-existing condition instead of a death to the Texas Department of Insurance, which regulates portable amusements.

Engineer's report

After the lawsuit was filed and the federal commission began investigating, James R. Funk, a San Antonio professional engineer with a doctorate in biomedical engineering, produced a report on the coaster in April for the carnival's attorney.

The "Hi Miler is safe" and has "insufficient ride forces to accelerate anyone from the ride," Funk's report said.

"The tracks were relatively level in the area where Mr. Greenhouse exited the cart, so there was no tendency for his body to lift upward out of the seat from cart accelerations," Funk wrote. "Raising his body out of the seat to the point where his center of gravity was above the top of the cart would therefore require a volitional act on the part of Mr. Greenhouse. ... Even without bracing or the lap belt restraint, a normally seated occupant would not be ejected from the cart at the point in the ride where Mr. Greenhouse fell."

Ray Cammack Shows hosts about 10 million annual guests and has run the Houston rodeo's carnival since 1994. During the federal probe, a lawyer representing the company reported that about 400,000 people rode the coaster in 2010 and more than 68,000 at the 2011 Houston rodeo.

The carnival operator's contract with the rodeo extends to 2013 and automatically renews through 2018 unless terminated.

The rodeo COO said the federal report "speaks for itself," and declined to further discuss the document because of litigation.

"We are still extremely confident that Ray Cammack Shows is the best traveling carnival in the business with the best safety record, and we are finalizing plans to have them return," Shafer said.

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