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EVHA JANNATH was just eleven years and four days old when she died in May last year – on a school trip to Drayton Manor theme park. It may have been just a tragic accident – but it has now emerged that the Park managers may face manslaughter charges.
Staffordshire police have now finished a long investigation and have sent the resulting report to the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS). It has been reported that the report contains evidence that Park managers may be guilty of corporate manslaughter – and the CPS will now have to decide whether to prosecute.
It is not known what parts of the sad incident suggest that the Park may have been negligent. At the time of the accident, concerns were raised about the design of Splash Canyon (the water ride where Evha died), but also about its operation – in terms of whether rafts were allowed to go down the ride too quickly.
Concerns were also expressed about staff responses to the incident. There were reports that staff did not take Evha’s friends seriously when they screamed for help – assuming that they were getting into the spirit of the ride or just messing around. There were also suggestions that there were not enough staff on duty.
Finally, it was suggested that there was a long delay before the emergency services were called – specifically, the ambulance service. If there was a delay, perhaps due to inadequate numbers of staff on duty or their slow response, this may have contributed to her death.
Evha lived and went to the Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester. She was on a school trip to Drayton Manor Theme Park, which is near Tamworth in Staffordshire. It is believed that any charges would be made against the Park’s owner, Colin Bryan CBE, who is 70.
Now that the police investigation has finished, the inquest into Evha’s death is due to resume on 20th August. This will be another ordeal for her family, who are reported to be still very upset and grieving for Evha. They face having to go through the inquest and maybe a criminal prosecution and are reported to be considering taking civil legal action against the Park – all of which could amount to stretching their nightmare out for years.
Questions are being asked about why the police investigation took 15 months. Although it did involve a number of technical matters, it is not clear why it took so long. Investigations such as these are carried out by local county police forces, which are closer to local communities and can get on top of things quickly as they are familiar with local circumstances.
However, county police forces, not least after the government funding cuts over recent years, may find it hard to liberate enough officers from their everyday workloads to get an investigation done in a reasonable timescale.
There have been suggestions that the Government should either grant additional funding to county teams which have to conduct major investigations such as these or develop a team of roving police investigators who can be sent out to help local forces.
Speed is important in investigations such as this – not only for the sake of the family who suffered the loss but also for the sake of all the children who go to theme parks and whose parents want to be reassured that they will be safe. Splash Canyon has been closed since Evha died there – but similar rides at other theme parks remain open.
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