New clue in Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy
The families of six children killed in the Hillcrest Primary School incident are bracing for a high profile court case.
National
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The jumping castle at the centre of Tasmania’s Hillcrest Primary School tragedy where six children died has been repaired and will be a key exhibit in a case starting on Tuesday.
The Taz-Zorb jumping castle was scheduled to be set up at a secret location on Monday ahead of Rosemary Anne Gamble’s court appearance in the Devonport Magistrates Court.
Gamble, the jumping castle operator who traded as Taz-Zorb, has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of failing to provide a duty of care over the incident that killed Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt.
Beau Medcraft and Declean Brown were also injured but survived the incident that happened on December 16, 2021, the last day of classes before the Christmas school holidays.
The jumping castle was picked up in a gust of wind at 9.59am and blown across the school’s sporting oval, with some children thrown up to 10m in the air, according to witnesses.
Victims’ families have been restricted to two people inside the court, while an overflow centre has been set up to deal with the expected interest in the case.
The Tasmanian Department of Public Prosecutions alerted families that there would be an inspection of Hillcrest Primary School on Monday, a public holiday in Tasmania.
“The jumping castle and zorb balls were also going to be inflated at an undisclosed location out of the public view,” a source said.
The Crayon Playland Jumping Castle involved in the tragedy has previously been inflated for Gamble’s defence team to inspect.
Magistrate Duncan Fairley was also likely to view the jumping castle.
The Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecution has alleged that the jumping castle was only tethered in four places, instead of eight.
The court has heard that there were enough pegs available when Gamble and two other workers set up the jumping castle.
The pegs were also allegedly not installed at a 45 degree angle as recommended.
There are also questions about whether the jumping castle was tethered to a trailer or similar type of anchor point.
A copy of the instructions for the Crayon Playland jumping castle states that “all inflatables should be securely anchored and fully inflated before any riders are allowed to jump.”
The Crayon Playland Jumping castle remains for sale online for $2225 from East Inflatables, a Chinese based supplier.
The Chinese manufacturers of the jumping castle were likely to be called as witnesses in the case, which was expected to run for two weeks.
Tensions have been high ahead of the case, with Gamble shouted out during a previous court hearing.
Families of the victims have also been concerned about a Netflix TV series called “The Accident” which they have claimed uses the Hillcrest tragedy as a plot device.
The Mexican made series follows the aftermath of a jumping castle tragedy at a birthday party.
Netflix has defended the series, saying it was “not based on a true story” despite the almost mirrored plot line.
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Originally published as New clue in Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy
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