DRAYTON Manor Park Ltd, the former owners of Drayton Manor Park has been fined £1m after a girl died on a ride, but the penalty will never be paid as it is in administration.
Eleven-year-old Evha Jannath was on the Splash Canyon rapids ride at the park during a school trip on 9 May 2017 when she fell into the water.
Evha was stood up at the time when the when the craft she was in hit a barrier on the last bend of the ride. In 2019 an inquest jury concluded she died accidentally.
We reported in March 2019 that the decision was then made by the Crown Prosecution Service that no charge of manslaughter would be bought against the park.
Due to our membership of the LDRS, below you can find a report from Rebecca Woods.
During a sentencing hearing at Stafford Crown Court today (Thursday), Mr Justice Spencer said: “This was an utterly tragic waste of a young life.”
He added there was “no prospect of the fine being paid” given the company operating the park at the time had since gone into administration.
The park has been sold to Looping Group, which runs attractions in Europe and the UK including West Midland Safari Park and Pleasurewood Hills.
“It is important that lessons are learned and the seriousness of the defendant company’s failing in this case is marked by an appropriate punishment,” Mr Justice Spencer said.
Drayton Manor Park Ltd previously admitted a breach under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution.
At the start of the hearing on Wednesday, James Puzey, barrister for the HSE, told the judge the accident had happened “in context of the systemic failures of safety on this ride”.
“The control measures they had were failing every day,” he added.
The entrance to the Splash Canyon ride.
Victim impact statements from Evha’s father and brother were not read out to the court but Mr Puzey spoke of the “devastating impact” on Evha’s family.
“She was a bright and promising student who had spoken of wanting to become a teacher herself,” he said.
The former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who has supported Evha’s family, said they had gone through “torture” and that “lessons need to be learned”.
“No-one has lost their jobs as a result of this, the company will not pay this fine, no individual has said they are responsible, but there remains a hole in the heart of the family,” he added.
Richard Matthews QC, representing Drayton Manor Park Ltd, told the hearing the park had co-operated with the HSE investigation fully and had no previous convictions.
At Tamworth Informed, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Evha, along with the Staff at Drayton Manor Park and the Emergency Services who were involved with this tragic incident almost four years ago.
In May 2017, Tamworth Informed issued a plea to the public to show their support for the family-run theme park – and this view remains the same today.
