Victim's mom sues Oaks Park for ride malfunction, wants answers

Evie Yannotta, a 14-year-old girl, spent the opening day of Oaks Amusement Park trapped 50 feet above the ground, hanging upside down for 25 minutes, on Friday, June 14.

Ongoing physical pain, mental suffering, terror, fright, stress and anxiety are just a sample of adverse effects she experiences after being stranded, according to a lawsuit her mother filed on Thursday, June 20.

There were 28 riders trapped, belted in and upside down, aboard the AtmosFEAR ride around 3 p.m. that day.

Riders screamed for their lives, threw up, cried, passed out and prayed as the minutes passed before the ride was manually lowered to the ground, court records explained.

The lawsuit said Evie's mother, Amy Yannotta, spoke with the Oaks Park CEO and Operations Manager, but was "left with more questions than answers."

Emily MacKay, Oaks Amusement Park's marketing and events director, said they were unable to provide further comment as of Friday, June 21.

Her daughter was left with abrasions, soreness, body aches and increased blood flow to the brain causing intracranial pressure, dizziness, increased heart rate, high blood pressure and ongoing post-traumatic stress and anxiety, according to court records.

Per the complaint, Oaks Amusement Park failed to maintain and operate the ride in a safe condition; know the proper procedure to repair the ride without having to call the manufacturer; eliminate or provide adequate warning of the dangers and potential harms that occurred; and keep the riders adequately updated during the incident.

A year ago Portland Fire & Rescue had its high angle rope rescue team participate in an evacuation exercise for the AtmosFEAR at Oaks Amusement Park.

Then, on June 21 responded to the park when the same ride malfunctioned. Efforts to manually override the park attraction were successful, lowering it to the ground about nine minutes after the process began. One rider was transported to a hospital for observation.

Amy Yannotta, the plaintiff, is requesting a trial by jury and up to $125,000. No future court dates are scheduled for the lawsuit.