4The Cannonball Loop, Vernon, New Jersey, USA
Action Park once had the worst reputation in history. Its very name became a synonym for both injury and death. The park’s safety measures were laughable, the guest often drunk, and the staff was largely uninterested, teenage “burnouts” seeking summer employment.
The Cannonball Loop, a waterslide with a complete loop at its end, only worked about 15 percent of the time and was the cause of a number of concussions, abrasions, and even near suffocations. From opening day in 1978 to its sad close in 1998, Action Park was the site of at least half a dozen deaths. Three were drownings. Another was an electrocution.
The infamous Alpine Slide was the site of the park’s first death–that of a teenage employee–in 1980. It was caused by a ride malfunction. Yet another fatality occurred when a man suffered a heart attack that was caused by the shock of frigid water under the park’s rope swing. As 1998 opened, the park was forced to close due to the numerous lawsuits against the owners.
The following year, however, it would be renamed Mountain Creek and reopened with an emphasis on safety. Its sad history was buried ‘neath safety signs and new regulations. Click On the Next Button to See Next.
