Family Files Suit In Middlesex County Over Fatal Carnival Ride

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The family of a 10-year-old South Jersey girl who died when she was ejected from an amusement park ride in 2019 has now sued the makers of that ride, alleging they knew the ride was dangerous.

The suit was filed Feb. 22 in Middlesex County Superior Court and the lawsuit highlighted that the same ride has been used every year since 1998 at the Middlesex County Fair.

The ride is the "Xtreme Super Sizzler," owned by Skelly's Amusements. Skelly's provides the rides for many fairs throughout New Jersey, and the Sizzler is a very common — and popular — amusement park ride. The Sizzler is very similar to the Scrambler.

On October 12, 2019 Hailey McMullen, 10, was ejected while she was riding the Xtreme Super Sizzler at the Deerfield Township Harvest Festival in Cumberland County. Her brother, sister and her grandmother, who took the kids to the fair, all witnessed her be ejected and then hit multiple times in the head as she tried to get up and the ride continued to spin, according to the lawsuit.

Hailey was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital, but pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

To this day, the children have not recovered from what they witnessed, nor has the grandmother, said the McMullen family. The girl's mother, Amanda McMullen and grandmother, Carol McMullen, filed the civil lawsuit against Wisdom Rides of America and Skelly’s Amusements, saying both companies knew the ride was dangerous and that the ride should have had a seat belt installed.

Wisdom Rides is the Colorado company that designed, manufactured and sold the Super Sizzler to Skelly’s Amusements, Inc., located in Williamstown, New Jersey.

Skelly’s was operating the ride at the time the girl was ejected, her family said.

The girl's family says the Super Sizzler was originally designed to be a teenage/adult thrill ride and its original product literature stated that it was not recommended for small children. Also, original safety warnings said riders 11 or younger had to be accompanied by an adult, read the suit.

However, at some point after the Sizzler hit the market, the company changed this and allowed children to go on without an adult, as long as they were taller than 48 inches.

Starting in 2006, the states of California, Massachusetts and Florida started requiring all Sizzler rides to be retrofitted with seat belts. However, in New Jersey, the ride is only required to use a lap bar.

California started the seat belt mandate after "a series of ejections" occurred on Sizzler rides, according to the suit, and the state ran safety tests on Swizzlers and WhirlyBirds rides. After the safety tests, Wisdom Rides sent out a letter to all Sizzler ride owners, letting them know they should retrofit the ride with a seat belt, and even provided a seat belt kit to install.

"Wisdom was aware of the testing results and the seat belt mandate," read the suit. "On June 21, 2007, in a letter to Victor Wisdom, the Council for Amusement and Recreational Equipment Safety (CARES) requested that Wisdom re-evaluate the Sizzler to prevent further occupant ejections. On August 1, 2007, a Service Bulletin bearing the name Wisdom Industries, Ltd. was issued recommending the installation of seat belts and offering a seat belt retrofit kit with installation instructions to all owners of Sizzler amusement rides."

However, the manufacturer only recommended Sizzlers get the seat belt. The ride Hailey rode on was a Super Sizzler, which Skelly's renamed after they purchased it as the "Xtreme Super Sizzler."

Dennis Marconi is the Trenton-based lawyer who represents Skelly's Amusements. When reached by Patch Wednesday, he said:

"This was a Super Sizzler ride and there was not a seat belt required on this ride at the time of the incident," said Marconi. "And it had been inspected and approved by the state of New Jersey, DCA, at the time of the incident."

DCA stands for New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs which confirmed to NJ.com in 2019 that Super Sizzlers have never been required to have seat belts in the state of New Jersey. A DCA spokeswoman said at the time that may change after Hailey's death, but the current status remains unknown.

Oct. 12, 2019 Death of Hailey McMullen, 10

October 12, 2019 was a Saturday. Hailey, her brother and sister attended Harvest Fest with their grandmother Carol. Harvest Fest is an annual event with fireworks, games, food and parades.

Hailey, a fifth grader, was taller than the 48 inches deemed "safe" to ride the Sizzler without an adult, and she and another passenger boarded the ride. Hailey, being the smaller of the two, was seated on the appropriate “inside” seat designated for the smallest rider, and the lap bar was down, said the suit.

On the Sizzler, cars spin in the opposite direction as the ride rotates.

Hailey was suddenly ejected from her seat while the ride was operating. After being ejected she landed on the ride's platform and Hailey "was then struck multiple times by the moving components of the Xtreme Super Sizzler ride that continued in operation after she tried to get up from the platform," read the suit.

Her siblings and grandmother watched in horror as Hailey was ejected, was then hit in the head by other moving cars and then watched the resuscitation efforts, which were ultimately futile.

"The second impact injuries were catastrophic and caused severe head and brain injuries to Hailey McMullen, who died later that night," according to the lawsuit.

At the time of her death, Skelly's drew fire for deciding not to immediately cancel its amusement operation while police investigated her death. The company ultimately relented and closed all the rides a day later.

Patch reported on Hailey's death at the time, and also reported how the Sizzler is used at community fairs throughout New Jersey, including at Fantasy Island on Long Beach Island and at the Manasquan Fireman's Fair.

The ride had been permitted and inspected by the Department of Community Affairs, according to NJ.com. But Ken Martin, an amusement park safety analyst and consultant, told CBS3 in 2019 that the ride is not safe.

"This ride is old. You never know what may happen. I know this ride has thrown people out before. I know that it goes too fast and I know that there were problems with the lap bars," he told the station.

This Gannett media report found that at least 12 people in the U.S. have been killed or suffered serious injuries since the early 2000s on Sizzler or Sizzler-type rides.

Super Sizzler used for years at the Middlesex County Fair. Will it return this summer?

The 2020 Middlesex County Fair was canceled due to the pandemic, but it is expected the very popular fair will resume in summer 2021. The fair is held every August at the county fairgrounds in East Brunswick.

An email to Middlesex County asking if the Sizzler or Super Sizzler will be at the fair this summer was not immediately returned.

"The product, while under the ownership and control of Skelly’s, was operated annually in Middlesex County, including at the Middlesex County Fair and other Middlesex County events from as far back as 1998," read the McMullen family's lawsuit. "The product, while under the ownership and control of Skelly’s, was inspected by the State of New Jersey each time it was used in Middlesex County. Defendant Skelly’s knew and intended that that its product would be used by the general public in the State of New Jersey and specifically in Middlesex County."

The McMullen family is represented by Louis Devoto and Melissa Baxter of Cherry Hill-based Rossetti & Devoto.

Here is the obituary for Hailey McMullen: https://www.legacy.com/obituar...

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