Published June 14 in the Big Sandy News

Stalled skylift strands park riders

By SUSAN ALLEN
Big Sandy News Floyd County Bureau

PRESTONSBURG — Two people were briefly trapped Sunday afternoon on the skylift at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, but the Prestonsburg Fire Department was told not to respond to the scene.

Instead, the Floyd County Rescue Squad was called to the scene and later contacted the fire department asking for rescue equipment.
No one was reportedly injured during the incident, which left the sightseers dangling in their seats for almost an hour, according to one report.

There are conflicting reports about the events that took place Sunday.

Jenny Wiley park director, Mark McLemore said he knew “very little” about the incident because he was out of town. The skylift broke down for a period of time with people on it, McLemore said he was told. The skylift is not connected to the park nor are park personnel responsible for inspecting it.

A ranger and state police were dispatched to the scene to assist rescuers, McLemore said. He referred other questions to skylift owner, Prestonsburg Mayor Jerry Fannin.

Fannin was out of town Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

Richie Schoolcraft, caption of the rescue squad, said a call was received from May Lodge that people were trapped on the skylift. He said when he arrived at the scene, the ride was running again.

Schoolcraft said he received a second call that the ride was down again and two people were lost while walking down the trail from the mountain.

“When I got back over there, they had appeared from the mountain,” Schoolcraft said. “I never saw them but I was told they were okay.”

Jim Carroll, spokesperson for the state parks department in Frankfort, said Thursday he was told people were “stranded on top” of the mountain.

“It’s my understanding folks came down the hill and lost their way,” Carroll said. “I understand the situation resolved itself fairly quickly. I know it was upsetting to those people and we are sorry for that.”

A source close to the fire department said Thursday firefighters were informed of the situation but no one was dispatched to the scene.

“The city just sent a policeman,” the source said. “If people are in trouble (the fire department) usually responds. (They) were told there were people on the skylift and they had been there about 40 minutes or so. They said nobody was hurt.”

Fannin reportedly asked for a policeman to be dispatched to the scene, not firefighters.

Members of the rescue squad reportedly called the fire station asking to borrow “rappelling” gear but the city’s rappelling team has been disbanded.

Doug Rathbun, program coordinator for regulations and inspections for the Department of Agriculture, the state agency responsible for inspecting the skylift, said the owner would not be required to report the incident unless someone had been injured. He added that amusement ride owners are asked to report any incidents.

“Owners are required to report an incident if someone is injured or hospitalized,” Rathbun said. “But, we ask owners to tell us if something happens so we will be not blind sided if a lawsuit is filed. We encourage them to do that.”

Rathbun said he was not aware of the incident at Jenny Wiley or whether it had been reported to the agency.

According to a sticker at the skylift, the ride was last inspected on April 15. Rathbun could not provide the results of that inspection Thursday.

The skylift was not in operation Thursday afternoon. 

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