Demand for answers after fatal fall
Mother wonders why disabled son was allowed to get on roller coaster
A day after a man died in a fall from a speeding roller coaster in Agawam, the victim's mother demanded answers and US Representative Edward J. Markey blasted congressional Republicans and the amusement park industry for failing to enact universal safety standards for thrill rides.
Markey, a Malden Democrat, pledged yesterday to fight harder to get a hearing on a bill to ensure the safety of amusement park rides that has been stalled on Capitol Hill for five years.
"My hope is the Republican Party will finally realize there will be more deaths and injuries unless they create a federal standard," Markey said yesterday in a telephone interview. "We have federal standards for automobiles, for baby carriages, for safety caps on medicine, but not on rides that go 60-to-80 miles per hour that result in death and injury every summer."
Markey's pledge came a day after Stanley J. Mordarsky, 55, who had cerebral palsy, was hurled to his death about 3 p.m. Saturday at
Cole said investigators from her agency examined the ride late Saturday night and made recommendations to authorities at the Agawam park about what was needed to make the ride safe. A full report is due out this week, she said.
"The ride remains closed, and it will remain closed until the park is able to make the remedies that they and the Department of Public Safety discussed [Saturday] night," Cole said yesterday.
She declined to release information about whether mechanical failure, a mistake by an operator, or actions by Mordarsky caused his death.
Germaine Mordarsky, the victim's 82-year-old mother, said yesterday that she does not believe her son's physical problems could have caused the accident.
"They said he spun out of the ride," Mordarsky said. "I couldn't figure out what that would mean. He was so heavy, it couldn't happen. Besides, he went there before, and nothing happened."
Stanley Mordarsky was about 5 feet 2 inches and 230 pounds.
Germaine Mordarsky said her son had cerebral palsy from birth and had asthma and diabetes. The disabilities made walking difficult, but he could get around by using a scooter, she said. "He loved the amusement park," she said. But later, Mordarsky said she wanted answers about why her son was allowed on the ride to begin with.
"I'm worried about something else happening to another person like that. . . . I can't figure out why at 80 miles an hour they let him get on that. That's ridiculous when somebody isn't a firm walker."
Despite news of the accident, patrons visited Six Flags yesterday, many standing and gazing at the brightly painted red and blue Superman Ride of Steel coaster, still silent on its rails. According to the Six Flags's website, the coaster was manufactured by Intamin, whose website lists the company as being located in Liechtenstein in Europe.
Toby Comer, 14, of Barrington, R.I., said he was disappointed that the ride was closed. While he said he would have boarded it if it were operating, his older brother Brett, 16, said he would wait until he is satisfied the ride is in good repair.
"I'd want to be sure it's safe," he said.
Ensuring park safety has been a longstanding concern for Markey, who has had a bill before Congress since 1999 that would require amusement parks to share the results of investigations so that faulty equipment elsewhere will be fixed.
The amusement park industry was exempted from the Consumer Product Safety Act in 1981, allowing individual owners to keep safety reports to themselves.
Markey also introduced legislation two weeks ago that would set a minimum age standard for operators of amusement park rides to 18 or older. The age of the operator in the Superman Ride of Steel accident has not been released.
The state Department of Public Safety must issue a permit to any amusement park once annually at the beginning of the season after safety officials are satisfied that the park is covered by the required insurance and has passed a state-certified inspector's test, according to Cole.
"That did, in fact, happen," Cole said about the Six Flags ride.
At 20 stories high, Superman Ride of Steel dwarfs the other rides at the popular park. One of the highest and fastest coasters in the world, it can reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.
Mary Ann Stebbins-Burns, a spokeswoman for Six Flags New England, said the company had not had another fatality at that location, which they acquired in 2000.
However, in the past year, an employee died at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, Stebbins-Burns said.
She declined to elaborate. Stebbins-Burns said the park followed its procedure governing disabilities in Mordarsky's case. The procedures require operators to allow individuals on a ride as long as they can get on and off without assistance.
She said the company's general manager, Ron Sevart, had contacted the victim's mother to offer condolences.
"Certainly, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family," Stebbins-Burns said.
Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com. 
