On February 4, Tiffany, a 22-year-old student, died after falling from a thrill ride in Clermont-Ferrand. All the safety rules were not respected, according to the first elements of the investigation.
Since February 4, Virginie has been trying to understand. This mother of a family lost her eldest daughter, Tiffany, who died in a merry-go-round accident at a funfair in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme). A “human factor” is to be attributed to this accident, said the local prosecutor’s office last week, which has since opened a judicial investigation.
“The security rules must be reinforced”, pleads Virginie with BFMTV.com. “These rides are not bumper cars… They have to be extremely supervised.”
“She saw that she was not going to get out of it”
February 4th is the opening day of the Cristal Parc, a carnival organized every year in Clermont-Ferrand. Tiffany goes there with her boyfriend. “She loved the thrill rides,” her mother explains. Once installed on the “Maxximum”, a structure composed of a nacelle which rises to 50 meters high and at a speed of 80 km / h, the young woman realizes that she is not well attached.
Ejected from her seat, she crashes into the safety barriers and then into the merry-go-round reception.
“What is even more difficult is that I know she saw that she was not attached, she screamed but no one heard her”, breathes Virginie. “She saw that she wasn’t going to make it.”
Supported by the emergency services, Tiffany succumbed to her injuries on the spot.
Her mother was notified of the accident by the mother of Tiffany’s boyfriend who witnessed the scene. “We were on the road with my second daughter, we immediately went to the carnival,” she explains. “When I was told she fell off a ride, I knew it was a thrill ride but I didn’t expect that.”
“When I saw the ribbons, the tarpaulins everywhere, I understood that it was more serious than I thought, then the Samu doctors told me that it was over…”
A man charged
An investigation was immediately opened. In addition to a faulty seat belt, “several other elements seem to be at the origin of the accident”, explained the prosecution after an expertise of the carousel. An operator was responsible for ensuring that the safety arch which prevents the fall of passengers was well fixed before starting the carousel, which he would not have done.
Employed without an employment contract, this man fled and was wanted last week. The judicial information being in progress, the prosecution now refuses to comment.
The ride manageralso injured in the accident, was placed in police custody and indicted on February 8 for “manslaughter” and “concealed work”, and placed under judicial supervision.
The family calls for “more security”
Since then, Tiffany’s family has faced a lot of criticism on social networks, some even evoking the responsibility of the young girl in this accident because of her weight. “They say it’s his fault,” laments Virgine. “The ride managers knew and they let her ride. I’m waiting for them to be punished.”
“I also expect there to be more security and more controls,” continues the mother of the young woman. She asks that this type of rides be reserved for amusement parks, to avoid other tragedies.
