The Coaster Crash of 2014

I have spent so many hours with a therapist, trying to rid myself of the nightmares. Sometimes in the silence I hear screams. When a breeze brushes a branch of a tree against the house, I flinch, remembering splinters of wood flying everywhere. There are times when the small scar on my jaw aches like a bleeding wound. Perhaps I have gone crazy. I have asked my doctors this very question many times.

For two years the media has been trying to get my story. I have been hiding behind sedatives, unplugged phones, and locked doors.

Today I stepped into the light, trying hard to convince myself that it was to honor those lost. Deep down I knew that it was time to face my demons. Perhaps if I could overcome this tragedy, the victims could rest in peace. Today I will share my story, of which every detail is burned deep and vivid into my memory.

The day started off a gorgeous typical June morning. The birds were singing and the sun was shining brightly. I was up, dressed, and excited to go to work. Apple Park may have only been a tiny amusement park nestled between condos and resorts on the lake front, but to me it was better than Disney World.

I was ahead of schedule, so I sat down at my computer to check my messages. I only had one; it was from my best friend and co-worker Raymond. “BEWARE-FRIDAY THE 13TH” I glanced at the calendar and sure enough it was the 13th. I had never been superstitious before then.

When I walked into the break room, I found Death sitting at the table. His staff was leaning against the wall next to the time clock. Wearing an Apple Park uniform, he oddly fit in.

In an eerie voice I recognized as Raymond’s, Death spoke to us announcing, “Today is the end of the world.”

It was really odd, because I was accustomed to Raymond’s outrageous and sometimes unexplainable behavior, but a shiver ran down my spine.

The morning went fairly smoothly. I worked as the loader, and Raymond stood at the controls of our locally-famous wooden roller coaster. Everything seemed perfect. Yet, I felt like a tremendous hurricane had somehow formed over the lake. Perhaps somehow I knew something was going to happen.

I took my place at the exit gate, ready for the incoming coaster train. I could feel the vibrations on the deck. I saw Raymond pounding at the break buttons. The coaster was moving too fast, and the break was jammed. I turned towards the track, expecting the coaster to get stuck at the breaks. That is when I saw a board jutting up from the track. From Raymond’s position, he never would have seen it.

Before I could move my lips to call out a warning, the coaster came gliding down the last hill and rammed into the board and frozen breaks. The front car bent the track and broke free, dragging the entire train with it. The cars shook and turned, breaking through the railing and soared thirty feet to the ground where it crashed into the cement. The back three cars slid along their sides and slammed into the concrete building, smashing them and the occupants into the wall. The screams ended in the sound of crunching metal.

I could not move. I could hear Trenton, the Ride’s Department Supervisor, screaming on the radio. I could see Raymond crumpling to the deck in front of the controls. I could not speak or force myself to take a step in any direction.

Still standing on the coaster deck, I watched as a dozen ambulances arrived and left with the sheet-covered remains of the eighteen riders who were scattered through out a jumble of shattered wood and blood. Not a single rider, of which most were children, survived.

The park had been evacuated and police officers from several neighboring towns were holding back a crowd of onlookers and reporters. I felt a light tough on my shoulder and managed to turn to see Trenton standing there. His lips were moving but I heard nothing. Everything had gone deathly silent in my mind, and the only thing present was the sight I was observing.

A paramedic came up to me and shined a light into both eyes, asking me questions I could not hear. All I could do was stare at him. When his gloved hand touched the side of my face I started screaming and could not stop. Tears were falling from my eyes and my whole body began to shake. It felt as if I were inside my mind seeing all this but unable to control my own actions.

I was released from the hospital two days later. That is when I began hiding from the world, unable to cope with the memories. Raymond moved to the Caribbean. The amusement park could never be drained from his blood. He found himself working the Ferris wheel on a small setup on the beach. He has told me several times that when the waves roar just right, he hears that wooden roller coaster. I suppose we will never truly escape.

Today is the two year anniversary of that unfortunate day. Apple Park has been closed all this time. Last year repairs were started on the broken wooden track. There have been several reports from workers stating the ghosts of those who died were watching the reconstruction and were waiting to be set free. The park will reopen tomorrow, but today was reserved for a ceremony held in the victims’ honor.

Trenton was giving the difficult task of calling me and Raymond. The Park Board wanted us to operate the coaster for its ceremonial trip around the track. I am not sure why I agreed. I know my best friend would never step foot on a coaster deck again, so I had to fight both our demons today.

Standing at the controls, I watched as the empty coaster departed from the deck. I swallowed back my tears and held my fingers over the new break controls. I closed my eyes so that I could not see the train coming over the last hill. I was terrified I would see the souls of the passengers from two years ago.

When the empty coaster was stopped successfully on the deck, I felt a weight lift off my soul. A part of me that had been held prisoner for two agonizing years had been set free. I knew it was time to share my and Raymond’s side of this tragic event.