A controversial ride at Rye Playland will likely be shut down permanently in the wake of an employee’s death there, Westchester County officials say.
The whirling Mind Scrambler – from which Gabriela Garin, 21, was fatally flung on June 29 – “will certainly remain closed for the rest of the season and probably forever,” County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz, a member of the county Public Safety Committee, told The Post yesterday.
“The sense from the county executive is to keep it closed.”
Anthony Provenzano, a lawyer representing S&L Amusement, which operates the ride, was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Garin was the second person to die on the Mind Scrambler since 2004. The other fatality, 7-year-old Stephanie Dieudonne, occurred in August 2004.
Stephanie’s death sparked an industry investigation that accused Playland of “turning their backs” on a number of potential dangers.
In Garin’s case, eyewitnesses told investigators that the 21-year-old mother, who had worked at the park for seven years, inexplicably climbed aboard the ride, crouched on a seat on her knees, and then stood up right before she was flung to her death. Her family has contested that version.