Man rescued from Lagoon Skyride, creates ride delays

FARMINGTON, Utah (ABC4) — A man was rescued from the Lagoon Skyride Friday afternoon.

The Farmington Fire Department responded to the scene as well as team members with Lagoon Amusement Park. Crews evacuated one guest from the ride who they identified as an adult male who walked away from the scene uninjured.

It also appears that the individual has special needs and was there with a caregiver that was able to offer support and keep him safe, according to eyewitnesses and Adam Leishman, a spokesperson with Lagoon.

Leishman noted that it was not clear what transpired before the man needed to be evacuated, but that a ride operator saw that he needed to be and stopped the ride.

Macadia Meyer and Sabrena Archuleta, who work at Lagoon, both told ABC4 that they saw the male hanging from the ride and heard lots of people yelling at him to ‘hang on’.

Apparently, some individuals went underneath where the man was hanging on to try to catch him, if he fell. Archuleta said, “The people below- they were trying to catch him…People were saying ‘hang on’ so he didn’t fall and get hurt.”

Fortunately, Farmington Fire Department was able to get him back on the ride. Using a megaphone, they told people to stay on the ride and to stay calm while they worked on evacuating him.

Meyer said, “I felt nervous for the guy, and, also, I think people need to be a little bit more responsible.”

Leishman says the ride needed to be stopped temporarily during the rescue but has since returned to normal service. Reportedly, Lagoon Skyride is accessible throughout the ride, but the male was close to the loading area, while allowed for the crews to quickly evacuate him.

He also noted that different rescue or operation procedures can take different amounts of time, saying, “[It] depends on the ride, depends on the situation- sometimes it’s a couple minutes.”

Leishman also said that the individual did not need to be transported, and he and his group were able to remain in the park.

Todd Petersen contributed to this story.