Taz-Zorb owner Rosemary Gamble pleads not guilty to wrongdoing in Hillcrest tragedy
With the family of the victims present, Taz-Zorb owner Rosemary Gamble entered her plea over workplace health and safety charges during a tense court session.
Police & Courts
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The operator of the jumping castle that was involved in the Hillcrest tragedy has pleaded not guilty to workplace health and safety charges.
Rosemary Gamble, the owner of Taz-Zorb, pleaded not guilty to one count of failure to comply with health and safety duty category 2 in the Devonport Magistrates Court on Friday.
A category two offence is when a person is exposed to a risk of death or serious injury or illness.
Students Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, and Chace Harrison were killed at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021, after being flung about 10m into the air while inside the inflatable jumping castle, with three other children also injured in the incident.
Families of the victims were in court on Friday when Ms Gamble entered her plea.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, Zane Mellor’s mother, Georgie Burt, yelled out “our kids are dead because of you” and told Ms Gamble that she was a “f – king gutless bitch” before being escorted out of the courtroom by family and friends.
In December, The Mercury obtained court documents that contained prosecution allegations that the jumping castle was not fully pegged down at the time of the incident.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) alleged in a complaint that only four of the eight anchorage points were pegged down by Ms Gamble.
The DPP alleged in the documents that the failure by Ms Gamble to peg the jumping castle down properly “was the hazard giving rise to the risk” of serious injuries and death.
“The defendant failed, so far as reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of the other persons was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business and undertaking.”
The DPP alleged Ms Gamble failed to use the recommended amount of pegs, have them at a 45-degree angle per the manufacturer’s instructions, and use a continuous wind monitoring anemometer.
“The defendant had a sufficient number of pegs available to her to use at each of the anchorage points,” the DPP said.
“A suitable alternative to the retention pegs, in the form of star pickets, were available on-site for use.”
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