Adelene Leong inquest hears that Airmaxx 360 had caused dozens of injuries in Sydney and Melbourne before fatal accident
A court has released a heartbreaking statement by the mother of Adelene Leong, who died after being thrown from an Adelaide Show ride.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The operator of a show ride that flung an eight-year-old girl at 100km/h, leaving her with fatal injuries, has admitted she was aware of previous injuries on the machine.
On Wednesday an inquest began into the death of Adelene Leong who died at the Royal Adelaide Show on September 12, 2014.
Counsel assisting the coroner Sally Giles said the AirMaxx 360 ride had a “troubling history of incidents” in the months before the fatal accident.
Deputy Coroner Ian White heard the ride had been used at large shows and carnivals across the eastern states and carried a minimum height requirement of between 120 and 130cm.
“Prior to coming to the Adelaide show in September 2014 the Airmaxx 360 had been plagued with complaints, many of them by young children below the manufacturer’s recommended height limit of 140cm,” Ms Giles said.
Adelene was 138 cm tall and became free from the ride’s restraints after about 90 seconds before being thrown clear.
In September 2013 the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria contacted an engineer to evaluate the ride because of 22 injuries sustained by patrons over three days.
In one case a child was taken to hospital after being violently jolted around the harness.
There were further incidents at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
One of the ride operators, Jenny-Lee Sullivan, told the first day of the inquest she had been aware of at least one injury on the ride prior to its arrival in Adelaide.
She began her evidence by reading a statement in which she said she still thought about Adelene and her mother every day.
“We were trying to bring joy to families,” she said.
“Our own children went on the Airmaxx 360 and we couldn’t possibly imagine how Adelene’s mum feels, I am heartbroken by what happened.”
During questioning by Ralph Bonig, for the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, which runs the Royal Adelaide Show, Ms Sullivan admitted to having been told of other incidents involving the ride when it was in Melbourne.
“I spoke to somebody at the Melbourne show, somebody had hurt their neck” she said.
The court released images taken by Adelene’s mother in the minute before the accident as well as a statement.
“The ride started I took another photo and then I walked to the other side of the ride so that I could see her better,” she wrote in 2014.
“After a very short time I noticed something flying through the air and realised it was my daughter.
“There were lots of people around and the ambulance seemed to take forever to get there.”
At the hospital Adelene’s mother was in the room when the doctors, after more than 40 minutes of trying desperately to keep her alive, declared the eight-year-old had died.
“I begged them to keep trying but they told me she had passed away,” she said.
Adelene was an only child and her death left her mother devastated.
Ms Giles told the inquest the ride had been imported from Spain but had not undergone required safety checks when it was first set up in Queensland.
Instead it was given an annual inspection, which the court heard had a lower inspection standard than an initial evaluation and in the case of Airmaxx 360 involved an engineer guessing the ride’s measurements.
Each show ride of a new type arriving in Australia requires a design registration number that can be obtained only after a thorough safety examination.
However, the Airmaxx 360 was given a registration number from an similar but older machine registered in 2004.
The same engineer, Brian Bradley, inspected both pieces of equipment and Ms Giles said the registration number had been “misappropriated” when it was used for the Airmaxx 360.
An email tendered to the court from Mr Bradley accused Ms Sullivan and her husband Clinton Watkins of using a “dodgy design registration number” to avoid having to register the ride for the first time.
“I have the feeling of being led up the garden path,” he wrote in November 2013.
During her evidence Ms Sullivan said she was “horrified” by the accusations in the email.
“I didn’t feel that Brian Bradley was doing his job,” she said.
“I was talked through the this whole process by (him).”
The inquest heard Mr Bradley has since died.
Adelene was visiting Australia from Malaysia with her mother to see her extended family.
Ms Giles said the fit and happy girl, a month away from turning nine, loved show rides so the family decided to attend the Royal Adelaide Show.
Deputy Coroner Ian White heard that Adelene’s mother twice had to ask ride attendants to ensure the harness around her daughter was done up correctly.
Shortly into the ride, Ms Giles said Adelene “somehow became free of her harness”.
The boot on her left foot briefly became caught before her foot slipped out and the young girl was “catapulted” at more than 100km/h from the ride.
She landed on a hard surface and suffered fatal injuries including a critical brain injury as well as serious lung and rib injuries.
Paramedics rushed her to hospital where she was under CPR for more than 40 minutes before she was declared dead.
The inquest, which is expected to continue until the end of May, continues.
Surprise twist in station-switching TV stars’ secret split
The Adelaide media power couple have both been linked to other industry identities after quietly parting ways.
Read more
Mum’s horror as son’s friend makes nightmare discovery
The Adelaide mother has paid tribute to her son after receiving news no parent can imagine.
Read more