Management Not to Blame for Sledging Accident
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, owner and manager of the Rother Valley Country Park, was cleared from all responsibility in the sledging accident that took place in February this year.
The accident occurred when a group of five teenagers decided to try sledging on an improvised sledging equipment made from the upturned roof of a Land Rover. As they were coming down the 270 metre grassy ski slope, their sledge gained speed and one person was thrown off it as it passed through a section of a wire fencing which had been erected quite sometime back to stop grazing. A young girl named Francesca Anobile was the one who received serious head injuries that caused her death, while her friends were also injured. The site of the accident was not in regular use.
The enquiry team that was formed to investigate the accident included members of South Yorkshire Police and the HSE. The subject of enquiry was if at all there was any negligence or dereliction of duty on the part of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The investigating authorities ultimately concluded that the Council was not to blame for this accident.
Chris Chambers, a member of the enquiry team, said that there are actually two reasons for the accident. One was that the roof of a Land Rover was not at all an ideal equipment to use as a sledge. The other was that because of the height from which it was launched, the “sledge” had gained speed very easily (an eyewitness account puts it at 50 miles per hour). The weight of the roof was also a major cause of the accident.
This accident occurred on the 3rd of February this year, but the authorities did not blame the park’s management and considered it a tragic happening that was avoidable and had occurred due to the lack of judgment of the teenagers.
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