WorkSafe Victoria has dropped all charges against the owner of a carnival ride that flung out a six-year-old boy at Rye three years ago.
Key points:
- The Cha Cha ride, owned by Wittingslow Amusements, was shut down for two days after the fatal incident
- An earlier hearing was told no ride defects were identified when it was examined in December 2016
- In Victoria, there is no statutory requirement for rides to be inspected
Eugene Mahauariki died at the Royal Children's Hospital from head injuries four days after falling from the Cha Cha ride at the Rye foreshore on Easter Monday in 2017.
WorkSafe Victoria charged Wittingslow Amusements over the boy's death, but today all charges were dropped in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
Eugene's father, Stacey Mahauariki, worked at the carnival and Eugene was taking the last ride of the day with another six-year-old when he fell.
After the fatal incident, the ride was shut down for two days before Wittingslow Amusements was allowed to reopen it.
Seatbelts were also fitted to the ride.
The Cha Cha ride then operated for several months until November 2017, before WorkSafe issued the operator with an improvement notice, which caused the ride to be dismantled and fitted with longer lap bars.
At a hearing earlier this month, WorkSafe barrister Andrew Palmer QC said the prosecution's case had relied on the design of the restraints being flawed, because they permitted a rider to slip out and "it was reasonably practicable to have reduced that risk by firstly having a secondary restraint system".
The court had heard that Wittingslow Amusements had an engineer examine the ride in December 2016 but no defects were identified.
In Victoria, there is no statutory requirement for rides to be inspected, the court heard at the earlier hearing. Instead, it is just a practice undertaken by WorkSafe.
The Cha Cha ride was built in 1961 and has been owned by iterations of Wittingslow Amusements since that time.
It has three arms radiating from a central column, and has four cars on each arm.
More to come.
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