Zip lines, carnival ride accidents focus of North Carolina legislation
ALLEGHANY COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina lawmakers want the state Department of Labor to study zip line safety following an accident that killed a 12-year-old girl at a YMCA camp in the mountains last month.
The General Assembly gave its final approval Tuesday to the measure that also raises fivefold the maximum penalty for carnival ride accidents. The bill heads to Gov. Pat McCrory's desk following a House vote accepting Senate changes.
The bill was amended recently after Bonnie Sanders Burney of Wilmington fell while zip lining on June 11 at Camp Cheerio in Alleghany County when the tether that connected the harness around her waist to the pulley above broke.
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The bill directs the department to review 13 zip-line issues and make recommendations to legislators by February.
More than two dozen commercial zip lines operate in North Carolina. No state figures are kept on how many youth camps have the rides.
