Boy, 9, falls to death from ride

HIGHLAND, Ind. (AP) — A 9-year-old boy died after falling more than 25 feet from the gondola of a rotating carnival ride during a Fourth of July festival at a town park.
"Rider error, operator error, equipment failure — we don't know at this point," Highland Police Chief Peter Hojnicki said. "His death was caused by unknown reasons."Dakota Stevenson of Gary was pronounced dead at a Munster hospital shortly after falling Friday night from the Wind Shear, a ride in which passengers are strapped into a rotating gondola with over-the-shoulder restraints.All of the carnival rides remained shut down Saturday while the festival continued.

UPDATE:07-09-2005

Dad sues in death of boy, 9, on carnival ride....One week after 9-year-old Dakota Stevenson died on a carnival ride in northwest Indiana, his father Friday filed a wrongful death suit against the ride's owners and operators, hoping to, as his lawyer put it, "discover the truth" about what happened. Link