New slides at Mammoth Park temporarily shut down amid claims of injuries - TribLIVE

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Jamie Crise was happy to hear Tuesday that Westmoreland County officials temporarily shut down new slides at Mammoth Park after her 10-year-old daughter was hurt there last month.

Her daughter ended up with a brush burn on her shoulder and bruises, leaving Crise of Mt. Pleasant Township with concerns about the slides’ safety.

“She was coming down way too fast,” Crise said. “You have to have a way of stopping yourself and that’s a concern.”

The slides were closed Tuesday as injury claims are being investigated by county officials, said public works director Greg McCloskey. An outside safety expert will take a look at the slides.

“I think it’s worthwhile to take a timeout,” he said. “We want to evaluate options on how we verify some of these claims.”

The Giant Slide Complex includes two 100-foot stainless steel racing slides, a smaller 50-foot slide, climbing walls, walkways and landscaping. It was opened July 2 as part of $1.1 million in renovations at the Mt. Pleasant Township park. The complex looks beautiful, parents agreed. But some who had a child injured, or were hurt themselves, said safety seems to be lacking.

There have been five incidents involving injuries that park police have investigated since the complex was unveiled, McCloskey said. Three of those involved riders who didn’t follow rules posted at the complex, he said. Other complaints of injuries surfaced on social media recently, said Commissioner Gina Cerilli.

“We want to make sure that, when it is open, that it is in a safe manner,” she said.

County employees closed the complex Tuesday and put up yellow caution tape to block off the slides’ entrances. Orange plastic sheeting was put over the slides.

Krystal Pizarchik said she and her 6-year-old son were left with black and blue marks after riding the slides on Friday.

“My son completely flew off and was very close to hitting the rocks,” she said.

The metal slides have bends and curves in them. Parents said the sides of the slide in those spots don’t seem to be high enough and there isn’t anything that riders can use to slow themselves down, sometimes leaving them with blistered fingers.

“When you come around the first bend, it’s not banked,” Pizarchik said. “Definitely the design, it’s not user friendly.”

A 45-year-old, 96-foot-long slide at the park was demolished in late 2018 to make way for the new complex. That slide was straight and became a drawing point for those who live in the area.

“It’s very much rooted in tradition around here,” said Shane Gorman of Scottdale.

“I was excited to share it with my kids,” Pizarchik agreed.

Gorman took his 3-year-old daughter to the new slide a few weeks ago and, after backing out a few times, she went down with no problems. But for her second ride, Gorman waited at the bottom and didn’t get to remind her about trying to slow down.

She ended up smacking her chin and elbow after being thrown off balance around a bend, Gorman said. Investigating safety concerns is a good idea, he said.

“I think they did a really nice job on it,” he said. “I would hate for them to just scrap it.”

Cerilli said that isn’t going to happen.

It’s unclear how long the slides will be closed. Cerilli said the county will look at possibly adding more signs and how to stress the rules to riders.

“We were very excited to have this new slide complex put in,” she said. “We’re still excited about it. We just want to make sure everything is safe.”

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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New slides at Mammoth Park temporarily shut down amid claims of injuries - TribLIVE

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