Carnival Worker Loses Leg in Roller Coaster Accident

PETALUMA, Calif. – State investigators have been called in to determine the circumstances of a roller coaster accident at a Petaluma fair that left a carnival employee with a severed leg.

Petaluma fire captain Jeff Schach says the worker was on the track when the train of cars hit him Wednesday afternoon at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. No one else was injured.

Harry Mason, owner of Oroville-based Midway of Fun carnival company, which runs the fair’s rides, says the employee was not following procedure.

Mason also says there was nothing wrong with the two-story Wacky Worm ride or how it was being operated.

Petaluma police Lt. Matt Stapleton described the incident as an “occupational injury.”

Fire officials say the employee was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

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Information from: The Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemo.com