PORT TOWNSEND — A Ferris wheel rider told police that on May 18, when a gondola that was carrying her, her partner and Groth’s 8-year-old son dumped them all while it was moving, they were sitting down and taking selfies, contrary to eyewitness accounts, according to a police report released Friday.
The rider, Crystal Groth, also said a gondola door that was left partially open after they boarded the ride at the Rhododendron Festival carnival ride became “stuck on a part of the ride as they were coming down,” according to Port Townsend Police Officer Kelly Perry’s interview narrative with Groth.
“Groth stated that she was sure she saw the door get hung up on another bar as the ride was coming down,” Perry said in his report.
Groth, 47; her son, Mikhail Groth-Swartwood; and Groth’s partner, Susan “Shawn” Swartwood, 59, fell 8 to 15 feet from the gondola, police said, although some eyewitness accounts said they fell 20 to 30 feet.
Groth-Swartwood was airlifted with serious injuries to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, police said.
She was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday before she asked that no information be released about her condition, a hospital spokeswoman said last week.
Port Townsend Police Sgt. Troy Surber said more police reports on the fall may be released in coming days.
“We do not find any criminal negligence,” he said. “This is a completely civil issue that we are documenting.”
Ron Burback, president of carnival owner Funtastic Traveling Shows of Portland, Ore., could not be reached for comment Saturday.
He sad in a May 20 Peninsula Daily News interview that a sign inside the gondola warns riders not to stand.
“According to eyewitnesses on the ground, we tend to believe it’s possible that one of the occupants was standing up” in the gondola, he said.
Said Brandi Hamon of Port Townsend, whose son was on the ride: “I feel that they were intentionally leaning out waving at friends.”
Noalin Montoya of Port Townsend, another eyewitness cited in the police report, said: “From what I saw was the two heavy set people standing up and trying to rotate seats or whatever they were trying to do.
“It looked like people stood up,”
Jada Rose Trafton of Chimacum told police that it “looked like people stood up. I didn’t see how it flipped but I saw them fall.
“When they fell, it looked like one of the adults and child hit a little hard and were a little banged up but the other adult was unconscious on the metal floor.
‘[It] almost looked like that person bounced up after they hit.”
Groth and other occupants of the gondola “were taking a couple of selfies” when “the cart they were riding in began to tip upside-down,” Groth told Perry.
Groth stated that she was sitting on the inside of the cart (east side), with her son, Mikhail, and Susan sitting on the outside of the cart (west side).
“Groth stated that when the car began to tip upside down, Susan fell out first.
“Groth stated that she was trying to hold onto the cart and hold onto Mikhail but she could not hold onto the cart.
“Groth stated she fell with Mikhail and landed on Susan.
“Groth stated that she was hurt but slid off the platform on her butt to the north side of the ride and down to the grass.”
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is conducting an investigation of the fall, spokeswoman Patty Davis said last week.
Safety inspector Richard Spromberg, who is licensed by the state Department of Labor & Industries and is a former Funtastic employee, conducted an inspection of the equipment “and found everything OK,” he said in a three-sentence report.
Keith Ellefson, a carnival manager, had talked to police but after talking with Burback refused to make any further comments without the presence of a lawyer, Surber said.
“[Ellefson] said that the gondola was hung up on a bolt located on the Ferris wheel structure on the north side of the gondola,” according to Surber’s report.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
