The key points to remember when the Dreamworld inquest starts again on Monday
FAMILIES of the four people who died in the Dreamworld tragedy are expected to arrive on the Gold Coast for the second round of inquest hearings next week. Here’s what we already know.
Crime and Court
Don't miss out on the headlines from Crime and Court. Followed categories will be added to My News.
“WE hold Dreamworld totally responsible for this tragic event that could have so easily been avoided. It has throttled our family.”
The scathing words from two family members of those who died in the Thunder River Rapids Ride tragedy were made just one week into the inquest in June.
The inquest resumes on Monday and will run for two weeks.
The words came after a cavalcade of shocking revelations were made day after day when sifting through the evidence of what happened on October 25, 2016, at the Gold Coast theme park.
Four people lost their lives when a pump stopped working on the Thunder River Rapids Ride. The water levels dropped and a raft became stuck on a conveyor belt.
That raft was hit by another carrying Luke Dorsett, his sister Kate Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Roozbeh Araghi, Cindy Low and her son, Kieran, 10. The raft flipped and the four adults were killed.
The water ride was one of the most popular and believed to be safest of all the rides at Dreamworld.
Ms Goodchild’s partner, David Turner, and Shayne Goodchild, the father of Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett, laid the blame on Dreamworld on the first Friday of the inquest — the first time they spoke during the hearings.
For two weeks in June, the pair, alongside Kim Dorsett, the mother of Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett, and Matt Low, the husband of Cindy Low, made their way to court 17 in the Southport Courthouse.
The Araghi family found the inquest emotionally trying and Mr Turner was too upset to attend the second week.
The information heard over the next two weeks will be considered by Coroner James McDougall, alongside the shocking information already heard.
Here is what Mr McDougall has already heard:
WHAT HAPPENED?
JUST after 2pm on October 25, 2016, Ms Goodchild, Mr Dorsett and Mr Araghi decided to go on the Thunder River Rapids Ride with young Ebony.
Mr Turner was to looking after baby Evie while they were on the ride. They were all on a family trip from Canberra.
Ms Low and son Kieran were paired placed on the ride. Her husband decided to sit out the ride. They were visiting from New Zealand.
The ride seated six in a circular raft, all facing each other and strapped in by a large velcro belt around the waist.
It took minutes to go around a series of man-made rapids before returning to the boarding point.
The raft the group was one struck another trapped raft three times near the conveyor belt before getting caught in the conveyor and flipping.
In June, under cross examination by barrister for Kim Dorsett, Robert Davis, forensic crash officer Senior Constable Steven Cornish said it was a “hypothesis” but after analysis of the CCTV and testing the cadence of the ride slowing down, it appeared the ride’s slow-stop button was pushed just after 2.05.13pm, about 10 seconds after the two rafts collided.
“If the button was pushed it was done 10 seconds after the contact of the two rafts?” Mr Davis asked.
“Yes,” Sen-Const Cornish said.
“Six seconds after Ms Goodchild fell out of the raft?” Mr Davis asked.
“Yes,” Sen-Const Cornish said.
“Four seconds after Mr Dorsett fell out of the raft?” Mr Davis asked.
“Yes,” Sen-Const Cornish said.
The officer told the inquiry that if the emergency stop button, which would have stopped the ride in two seconds, had been pressed, injuries to the four people who died could have been “limited”.
CONTROL CONFUSION
A NUMBER of ride operators were asked about the confusing control panel which operated the Thunder River Rapids Ride.
The two ride operators at the controls the day of the tragedy told the inquest they did not know there was a time difference between the two conveyor stop buttons.
A shut down of the ride needed the operator to press four buttons in a specify order on the main control panel.
Once all four were pressed it took eight seconds to stop the conveyor.
A second emergency stop button for the conveyor was about 10 metres away and stopped the conveyor in two seconds.
Junior ride operator Courtney Williams, who was given training the morning of the disaster, was standing next to that button did not know what it did.
She said she was told: ‘do you see that button over there, don’t worry about it, you don’t need to use it’.
She said if she had known what the button did, she would not have hesitated. “I would have done everything that I could have to do that.”
A memo sent a week before the incident said only to press the fast emergency stop button when the main control panel was not manned.
Senior ride operator Peter Nemeth said he pressed the button on the control panel two or three times. “It didn’t stop,” he said.
Dreamworld mechanics also told the inquest they had not been trained to test the emergency buttons when checking the ride each morning.
SAVING MONEY
JUST seven months before the disaster Dreamworld’s executive safety team ticked off on cost-cutting on repairs and maintenance.
Minutes from a meeting in March 2016 shown to the inquest showed the shocking order.
“Revenue is up but profit is down, cutbacks are now being enforced. Repairs and maintenance spending need to stop,” the minutes said.
The cost-cutting went a stop further.
Wages of the ride operators proved it would have only cost the park an additional $10 a day to employ two senior ride operators for the Thunder River Rapids Ride, one of the most complex at the park.
Instead the park chose to employee a senior and junior operator for the ride, saving $3650 a year.
IT HAPPENED BEFORE
RAFTS had flipped on the conveyor belt not once but twice in the 15 years leading up to the disaster.
The first was during a dry run in January 2001 as the park was being opened for the day.
The raft was caught in almost the same spot on the conveyor, leaving the boat mangled.
“I shudder when I think if there had been a guest on the ride,” an internal email read.
In November 2014, ride operator Stephen Buss was sacked after two rafts collided on the conveyor belt.
The inquest revealed those two flips were not the only incidents on the ride.
In 2004, rafts collided and a guest ended up in the water. No one was injured.
Forensic crash investigator Senior Constable Steven Cornish said Dreamworld should have known it could happen.
“The potential for that to happen was always there.”
BREAKDOWNS
THE popular Thunder River Rapids Ride was having issues for at least a week prior to the tragedy.
The disaster occurred when water levels dropped following the failure of the south pump — one of two pumps which operated the ride.
That same pump failed on October 19, 2016 and was reset by engineers that day.
It broke down again on October 23.
On the day of the disaster the south pump failed at 11.50am and again at 1.09pm.
The pump failed for a third time at 2.03pm, leading to the disaster.
TRAINING WOES
STAFF at Dreamworld had never been placed in emergency simulations as part of their training when operating the ride, according to four different ride operators.
GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS FOR 50C A DAY
Junior ride operator Courtney Williams had only 90 minutes of training to operate the Thunder River Rapids Ride the morning of the disaster.
Ride operator Tim Williams, who has worked at Dreamworld since 2013, said since the disaster the park still had not put staff through drills or simulations. “There has been talk and plans of doing it but not as yet as far as I am aware of it,” he said.
The claims about a lack of training came after staff at Dreamworld raised concerns about their training with the Bulletin in June.
Ride trainer Amy Crisp was reprimanded seven months before the incident for not following correct procedures when shutting down the Thunder River Rapids Ride for a day.
She trained Ms Williams.
Ms Crisp also trained the senior ride operator Peter Nemeth some months earlier.
The electrician who fixed the first pump failure the day of the tragedy had received a “final written warning” for an incident on the log ride just weeks earlier.
DREAMWORLD APOLOGISES
THE theme park issued a statement on the final day of the June inquest hearings.
It was the first time the theme park had apologised.
“We acknowledge that shocking and deeply concerning evidence has been presented at the Coronial Inquest,” the statement said. “We know that this has been a harrowing time for all, particularly the victims’ families. We are sorry that they have had to relive the trauma of that terrible day in October 2016.”
The inquest also heard Dreamworld has not conducted an internal investigation into the incident.
Vicious public assault ‘could not be stopped’
A man who "couldn't be stopped" when he grabbed his partner by the hair and dragged her 100m through a Gold Coast shopping centre car park has now faced court over two dozen charges.
‘I’m not going to promise you anything’
A mother facing a string of drug offences was perhaps too honest with a magistrate yesterday after she initially couldn’t guarantee being on her best behaviour.