Montana teen was flung to his death from a ‘YO-YO’ carnival ride in Butte. A lawsuit was filed in Butte-Silver Bow District Court. It claims the carnival ride was operating even though operators knew it had mechanical defects and missing safety restraints. Carnival workers apparently signed off on safety inspections.
The victim, identified as Clayton Phillips, suffered major injuries on June 7, after he was ejected from the high-speed ‘YO-YO’ swing ride in the Butte Civic Center parking lot before dying two weeks later from his injuries.
Court documents state that the ride operators at Midway West Amusements knowingly ran the ride when they knew there were at least 10 chairs that lacked safety restraint belts and structural connectors. Rather than taking the defective ride out of service or conducting immediate repairs, the operator relied on employee memory and verbal warnings to keep the compromised seat vacant.
“When I was on the ride, there was no clip for the bar that keeps you in and on the seat. It was kind of jaggedy, and I had to hold onto the bar and also the swingset.”
— Keaton Hislop (14-year-old carnival-goer), Nbcmontana
According to the complaint, improperly trained workers seated the Montana teen in one of the defective chairs while the ride operated at full rotational speed.
The lawsuit states: “C.J.P. was thrown, ejected, and/or fell from the moving Yo-Yo … fell from a substantial height and violently struck the ground and/or surrounding surface.”
The filing further reveals that Midway West owner Michelle Jensen admitted to the ride’s severe mechanical deficiencies during a post-crash police interrogation, acknowledging that replacement parts were on order while the attraction continued to spin paying customers.
An outside inspector from Shady Acres Safety Services and its owner, Dennis Sutherland, had inspected the ride twice in May and signed off on its operational safety without reporting defects.
The lawsuit also targets the local government of Butte Silver Bow. It alleges Butte Silver Bow was responsible for the area and had failed to implement basic safety verification procedures while taking a 15% cut of the carnival’s gross revenues.
The family is seeking damages from Butte Silver Bow, Midway West Amusements, Shady Acres Safety Services, its owner, and 20 yet-to-be-identified entities.
In an unrelated case, the Utah Attorney General’s Office reported human labor trafficking charges against the owner of Midway West Amusements in 2021.
It alleged mistreatment of the Mexican nationals working for the company. Midway West apparently committed many violations, including underpayment, retaliation, unsafe transportation, and recordkeeping failures. Furthermore, the amusement park had a 2019 OSHA violation when an employee fell from approximately 10ft while placing a canvas tarp on a ride. The initial settlement was $13,260; however, it was reduced to $4,058 after settlement.
Nonetheless, no criminal charges have been filed against Midway West for the June 7 accident.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.
