Fair ride similar to one in recent fatality

Less than a week after a man fell to his death from a circular roller coaster-like ride at a Whidbey Island fair, a similar ride will be featured today as the Evergreen State Fair opens in Monroe.

Elizabeth Grant, spokeswoman for the Monroe fair, said she's sure the accident will "be in the back of people's minds, but they'll go on (the ride) anyway."

The "Ring of Fire" ride at the Monroe fair is similar to and made by the same manufacturer as the "Super Loop 2" at last weekend's Island County Fair in Langley.

Doug McKay, co-owner of Paradise Amusements of Post Falls, Idaho, was spraying lubricant on the tracks of the Super Loop 2 on Saturday while the ride was in operation when he slipped and fell. He was dragged into the air by the ride and then fell about 40 feet, landing on an aluminum fence.

The accident was witnessed by hundreds of fairgoers, including those on the ride at the time.

The accident has been called a fluke by the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), Island County Sheriff's Department and fair officials.

L&I officials say repairing an amusement ride while it is in motion is dangerous.

Jim Hall, assistant manager of Butler Amusements, the Beaverton, Ore., company supplying amusement rides at the Evergreen State Fair, said he knew Doug McKay for a long time and was shocked that he would fix the ride while it was in motion and packed with people.

"Everybody is thinking, 'Are we doing the right thing? Are we being safe?' " Hall said. "We would listen for the noise but not with people on the ride. Nobody would work on the ride while it's running."

Hall said that, unlike on the Super Loop 2, riders on the Ring of Fire are strapped into their seats by shoulder belts, not enclosed in cages.

"It just goes around and around. It's a track ride," Hall said. "It's extremely popular with mostly older kids."

Setting up for the Monroe fair yesterday, Hall said he wasn't taking any special precautions. "I'm so extremely familiar with that ride, but as far as being any extra careful — this was an accident."

McKay's wife, Sherry McKay, co-owner of Paradise Amusements, said her late husband had been around carnival rides for much of his life and was experienced in their maintenance.

She said he sometimes worked on rides while they were in operation.

Sherry McKay, who has a contract to provide amusement rides to the Island County Fair through 2005, said she promised her late husband that if anything ever happened to him she would "keep the show going."

But, McKay said, she won't be using the Super Loop 2.

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com