Iraq vet, double amputee, killed when tossed by roller coaster

UPDATE July 13, 2011
Sheriff's Department to Update Darien Lake Investigation
Written by
Aaron Saykin
FILED UNDER
James Hackemer
BATAVIA, NY -The Genesee County Sheriff's Department has called a news conference for Wednesday morning to announce their findings in the case of an Iraqi war veteran who fell to his death from the "Ride of Steel" rollercoaster.

Army Sergeant James Hackemer, who lost both legs in Iraq in 2008, should have never been allowed to board the Darien Lake rollercoaster that caused his fatal accident.

That is according to Amusement Park Safety Expert Bill Avery, a managing partner of the Florida-based company Avery & Avery.
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Sheriff Department to Update Darien Lake Investigation

UPDATE
Probe continues after vet falls from NY coaster

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press
Posted: 07/11/2011

BUFFALO, N.Y.—An investigation is continuing into the death of an Iraq war veteran and double amputee who fell from a 208-foot-tall roller coaster in upstate New York.
Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer, who had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb, was ejected Friday from the Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester.
The ride remained closed Sunday and the park's website said it will not operate again until authorities complete their investigation.
Amusement park industry consultant Dennis Speigel said two things should be considered when determining whether someone should be allowed on a ride.
"One is rider responsibility and then there is operator responsibility, and those two issues have to homogenize," Speigel said Sunday. "This just seems to me that it was a bad decision on both parts."
Hackemer's relatives have said they don't hold the park responsible for his death.
"It's nobody's fault. It was an accident. James thought it wasn't an issue," Jody Hackemer said over the weekend of her brother's disability.
She said her brother had had recently returned from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was fitted with a new set of prosthetic legs. Jody Hackemer said she did not believe he was wearing the prostheses on the roller coaster.
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Probe continues after vet falls from NY coaster

Iraq vet, double amputee, killed when tossed by roller coaster

(CBS/AP) DARIEN, N.Y. — An investigation is under way into a roller coaster accident in upstate New York that killed an Army veteran who lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq.

Teams of inspectors on Saturday were examining the 200-foot tall Ride of Steel roller coaster at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, about 30 miles east of Buffalo, between Buffalo and Rochester, the Genesee County sheriff's office said.

James Hackemer, of Gowanda, died Friday evening when he was ejected from the ride.

The 29-year-old was missing both legs and part of a hip.
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Iraq vet killed when tossed by roller coaster