HOUSTON It was a tragic end to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Sunday evening after a man fell to his death from a carnival ride.
HLS&R Chief Operating Officer Leroy Shafer confirms the 47-year-old man died after falling 28 feetfrom a car on the Hi-Miler rollercoaster.
Emergency workers at the rodeo performed CPR, butthe victimwas pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
He has been identified as Brian Joseph Greenhouse.
When Greenhousefell,he hita 44-year-oldman whowas treated at the hospitalfor abroken ankle.
The rollercoaster had both a lap beltand locking safety bar. Shafer said they do not believe the ride malfunctioned because the bar and belt were still in place after the accident.
The ride, which has been owned by carnival operatorRCS since 1980, had no history of serious problems, according to Shafer.
There's been hundreds of thousands of riders on this ride, Shafer said. There's never been anyone who came out of this ride, never been an incident where a bar or lapstrap came up.
Shafer said only one injury has been reported on the ride since 1980.That person suffered a broken nose and cheekbone when their head hit the bar.
In 2010, riders at therodeo carnivalgot stuck on the ride for about 45 minutes when a crank shaft bent and the coaster automatically shut off. YouTube video shows RCS workers climbing aboard the ride.
The dead man's fiance was also on the rollercoaster, sitting two cars behind him. Shafer said they haven't found any witnesses who saw Greenhouse fall as the coaster made a turn.
The carnival rides areinspected before the rodeo opens each year, and the rollercoaster was inspected daily, according to Shafer. Hesaid carnival operator RCS has an excellent safety record.
I ve been here 38 years. We ve never had a fatality at the carnival during my time frame here. This is something we just hate to have happened, Shafer said. I guarantee you we have extreme safety precautions here, but we ll look and see if there was anything else we could have done.
The Houston Police Department Homicide Division has taken over theinvestigation into the cause of the accident.
