10 Rescued, 6 Hurt After Boardwalk Rollercoaster Derails

Posted
Daytona Beach, FL - At least six passengers are taken to Halifax Health Medical Center after a rollercoaster on Daytona Beach's Boardwalk derails. 10 people in all had to be rescued from the Sand Blaster after the call for help came in just after 8:30 last night, according to the Daytona Beach Fire Department.
At least two of those riders had to be pulled from the rollercoaster's front car by first responders after it completely went off the tracks and dangled in the air for some time. Two others who were in the front car actually fell from the ride to the ground, dropping around 34 feet, according to DBFD spokesperson Sasha Staton. "Those victims were determined to be trauma alerts and were taken to the hospital," Staton added. "The middle car which contained four more riders was partially derailed and the rear car which held two more riders was still on the track." The eight people still on board managed to get their seat belts removed by the 15 firefighters who responded to the scene. They were then brought down through either a makeshift pulley system or via the fire truck ladders, according to DBFD chief Dru Driscoll.
"We are fortunate that the group of responding firefighters included members from Daytona Beach Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team," Driscoll stated. "The Technical Rescue Team trains specifically for these type of incidents and specializes in high-rise rescue." Other than the two trauma alerts, no other details have been released about the passenger injuries. The Sand Blaster opened in 2013 after it was purchased from a shut-down amusement park in Delaware the year prior. It's not clear at this point what caused the ride to derail. State officials went to the scene this morning to begin the investigation. The Daytona Beach Police Department is also investigating after receiving a report from a caller that he spotted two men on the rollercoaster tracks at 9:45am yesterday. He advised police that they may have been maintenance workers, according to the incident report.