Firefighters rescued 15 people from the Wave Twister at Adventureland in East Farmingdale on Friday evening after the ride stopped about 50 feet in the air. Many of the riders were children, and rescuers brought them down one by one after arriving around 8 p.m.
The ride’s two circular cars had 10 riders each, and all 15 were taken down in harnesses before paramedics examined them. Six fire departments took part, including East Farmingdale, using a cherry picker and ladder trucks to reach the riders suspended on the track.
Heather Bernard in the parking lot
Heather Bernard said she was waiting in the parking lot while firefighters brought down her daughter and two friends after they had been stuck for more than two hours. She said the children had ridden once before and got back on at 6:30 p.m. after the ride ran empty.
“They ran the ride twice empty and then they got on,” Bernard said. “That’s when it stopped.”
Her account adds the piece riders and parents needed Friday night: the ride did not simply stall with passengers already seated. It had already broken earlier in the day, was run empty, and then stopped again with people aboard, leaving families to wait outside while crews worked overhead.
Chanelle Bonnard on the delay
Chanelle Bonnard said her two 9-year-old girls were among those stuck on the ride, and she said they were stranded for about 40 minutes before a parent called the fire department. She said the children were wearing safety harnesses but had their feet dangling.
“We don’t know how they’re picking which kids to come down. The park isn’t saying anything to the parents at all,” Bonnard said. “They’re scared and kids are crying up there. They had enough time to cry, stop and start crying again.”
Adventureland did not immediately comment on the malfunction Friday night. The Wave Twister debuted in April as part of phase two of a $10 million, five-phase plan to redevelop the back area of the park called Legacy Corner, after the ride had been delayed for a year from its original announcement.
For riders and parents still waiting on answers, the immediate issue is whether the ride will stay closed and why it failed twice in one day. The park had not addressed that by Friday night, so families were left with the rescue itself and the uncertainty around the ride’s return to service.
