Darwin award contestant

Ron-P · January 2004

Girl killed in park stunt

By Daniel Witter/Appeal-Democrat

By Jesse Drury/Appeal-Democrat

Two teenagers mourn on Sunday the loss of a friend who was killed Saturday night at S.J. Field Park in Marysville.

A 16-year-old Marysville girl died in a city park Saturday as she duplicated a movie stunt that involved a merry-go-round.

The victim, whose name was not released, died in S.J. Field Park on Rideout Way before 6 p.m., after she flew off a merry-go-round and hit her head on the street pavement, according to the Marysville Police Department.

The incident is still under investigation Sunday, according to the department.

According to witnesses, seven teenagers attached a rope to a truck and wrapped it around a merry-go-round, then watched it spin as the truck pulled the rope away from the ride. The stunt was previously performed in "Jackass: The Movie."

The teens did this several times before they lengthened the first rope with a second rope and tied it to the merry-go-round, said Andrew Royster, 18, who witnessed the accident. That's when the victim climbed on board, he said.

"We all told her not to do it," said Royster, who gathered with other friends in the park Sunday to remember the victim.

The victim's friends said that she was a stubborn risk taker who got angry at those who tried to stop her from doing things she wanted to do. The stunt was something she wanted to try, they said.

"She'd go all out for the thrills," said Royster, who just knew the victim for six months.

They also said she was a loving caring person, who often smiled.. "She cared for everyone," said Khristy DeLeon, 16.

Royster didn't want to be a part of the stunt and started to walk away, he said.

"I heard the truck pull away. I heard a scream, and I saw her flying through the air," he said. "It was a blur; it happened so fast."

According to police, the centrifugal force of the spinning ride was too great for the victim to hang on. The victim lost her grip and flew away from the ride, beyond the grassy area into the street, police said.

Royster and another friend ran over to assist the victim, who landed in the street about 24 yards away from the ride.

According to the department, the victim was unresponsive when emergency workers arrived. She was taken to Rideout Memorial Hospital emergency room but died of what appeared to be head injuries, according to the department.

"She was starting life over," lamented friend Triyona Ureste, 17. The victim was planning to move to Sacramento on Tuesday to live with her father, Ureste said.

Ureste and several other friends waited Saturday night for the victim to meet them and go bowling, she said. Instead, they got a phone call from friends who told them what happened.

On Sunday, Ureste and other friends gathered in the park at the merry-go-round to console each other and remember their friend - who may have been a risk taker but was also a great friend.

"She was a loving person," said Jackie Lang, 17.

Several feet away, a small cluster of people gathered in silence around flickering candles, a small cross and a potted plant. Some silently read a letter left by a friend to the victim as daylight faded into evening.

Someone wrote a message of love to the victim in the dirt around the ride, but people stayed away from the orange paint markers in the street where the victim's body landed.

Periodically, groups of mourners would arrive at the park in cars or on foot and embrace each other with silent tears.

Peace Out~:D

Loud & Clear · January 2004

Sounds like a pretty strong entrant. Can't feel too good to be the kid who got on that accelerator a little harder than they had to, thinking they'd show that girl a little more than she bargained for; indeed they did.