Queensland Police will not pursue criminal charges following Cairns Showfest ride incident

Queensland Police have been reported to not be pursuing criminal charges following an incident at the Cairns Showfest last month which saw a young woman suffer severe injuries after falling from an inverted pendulum ride.

As reported by The Cairns Post, teacher aide Darleen Wallace was “left fighting for life after plummeting 30 metres” from the Hangover ride and landing in the hydraulics of the machine while it was operating at the Cairns Showground.

Despite Wallace sustaining “horrific injuries” a Queensland Police Service spokesman said that following an investigation charges will not be laid against the Victorian-based ride operator Showfest Promotions.

The spokesman advised “no criminal charges have been preferred from a police perspective.”

However, a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is ongoing.

The Cairns Post also reported that Wallace’s family are planning civil action against the operators of the ride.

The newspaper went on to advise that “despite revelations some unused Showfest rides had ‘mechanical issues’, an industry-wide shutdown of travelling carnival rides has been ruled out by the Queensland Government.

A number of rides similar to the Hangover operate on the show circuit.

In 1996, a 14-year-old was killed at the Illinois State Fair in the US when she slipped through restraints and fell from a similar ride.

Images: A still from a video showing The Hangover in operation immediately prior to the incident (top, credit: Facebook) and The Hangover in operation earlier this year (below).