A passenger in the Universal Studios tram car that crashed into a guardrail Saturday estimates that the ride’s speed reached 20 to 25 mph after the driver lost control of the tram, much faster than the attraction’s normal slow speed . To the man’s lawyer.
Fifteen passengers aboard the tram suffered “minor to moderate injuries” after the ride crashed just after 9 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said in a report. When the tram driver turned onto Avenue M the attached tram cars passed a set of props from the “Jurassic Park” film franchise, and for some unknown reason the last car of the procession struck the metal railing on the right. CHP said. This caused the tram to “tilt and several passengers were thrown out of the tram”, officials said in the report.
Details of the crash that occurred Saturday night amid the tram ride’s 60th anniversary remain unclear, but the CHP said the agency has determined that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
Lawyer Steven Dhillon, who represents two adults and an 11-year-old girl injured in the crash, said one of his adult clients suffered a brain injury after colliding with the metal or plexiglass frame on a tram car.
“She woke up sick with nausea and was vomiting the next morning,” Dhillon said over the phone.
According to Dhillon, when she went to the hospital the next morning, she was told she was bleeding in the brain. Dhillon did not make her clients available to The Times to discuss their injuries or disclose their names.
Another Dhillon customer riding in the last tram car said it appeared the driver lost control while going downhill, causing the tram to accelerate rapidly as passengers screamed, the lawyer said. Dhillon did not disclose his client’s age, adding that the guest said the accident had aggravated pain due to previous knee and spine surgeries.
on Saturday, Lieutenant Maria Abel with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Said that it appears there is a problem with the brakes of the tram. A Universal Studios spokesperson said, while the Sheriff’s Department responded to the crash scene, the CHP is the lead agency in the investigation. The CHP has not released the findings of its investigation.
“Our thoughts are with the guests who were involved, and we are grateful that based on the agency’s report, the injuries were minor,” Universal Studios said in a statement.
The theme park said it was working closely with authorities as it continues its review of the incident, adding that “safety remains the top priority.”
Dhillon said that although initial reports of injuries appeared minimal, the long-lasting effects of the accident would continue to develop over the next several months. He is currently discussing the situation with Universal Studios.
A spokesperson for Universal Studios did not respond to requests for comment on Dhillon’s claims.
The Studio Tour tram ride will continue to operate along a modified route and the theme park will reinforce its “operational and safety protocols.”
In many ways, the tram ride came to define the theme park.
Over the years, countless riders have had close encounters with a robotic shark depicting the bloodthirsty star of the movie “Jaws,” a terrifying stop outside the Bates Motel from the movie classic “Psycho,” and a harrowing escape from the clutches of King Kong. Have enjoyed.
New film franchises have joined the tour, including a visit to a suburban neighborhood ravaged by aliens from the 2005 film “War of the Worlds” and a Western-themed side show from Jordan Peele’s 2022 film “Nope.” Is.
The tram tour began in 1964 when Universal Studios executives observed that food sales at the studio commissary increased after local tour buses were allowed to proceed past the studio gate to allow fans to catch a glimpse of the backlot movie sets and props.
The first iteration of the attraction was the pink and white glamor tram, which had approximately 38,200 riders in its first year. Passengers paid $2.50 for a two-and-a-half-hour tour that included stops to watch stunt shows and movie makeup exhibits.
Later renamed the Universal Studios Studio Tour, the tram has since suffered real-life fires, labor conflicts, a series of expansions, and at least one fatal accident.
The theme park began a renovation project in 2022 to begin converting diesel-hydraulic powered vehicles to electric ones to reduce emissions. It is unclear whether the tram that hit the guard rail was a new electric vehicle or an older version.
This is not the first time that an accident has happened in a theme park. In 1986, a park employee was hit by a tram During a special Halloween “Fright Nights” show, The Sheriff’s Department said at the time that Paul Rebalde, 20, was stationed at a parked tram filled with mannequins that looked like corpses.
While in costume, Rebalde was to jump between mannequins on a parked tram and scare people passing by the moving tram. But according to officials, the stunt went wrong when Rebalde jumped and became trapped between the third and fourth sections of the four-section tram, crushed and dragged to his death. The Halloween-themed attraction was put on hold for several years and later renamed “Halloween Horror Nights”.
Just recently, a stunt performer was hospitalized after performing “Waterworld” show in January 2023, The artist was set on fire shortly before he jumped from a tower in the show’s finale. The “Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular” show is inspired by the 1995 Kevin Costner film and opened a few months after the film’s debut.
Times editor Hugo Martin contributed to this report.
