Evha Jannath: Drayton Manor fined £1m after water ride death
The former owner of a theme park has been fined £1m after a girl died on a ride, but the penalty will never be paid as it is in administration.
Evha Jannath, 11, was on the Splash Canyon rapids ride at Drayton Manor during a school trip in May 2017 when she was "propelled" into the water.
Evha, who could not swim, fell from the boat at the park in Tamworth, Staffordshire, when it hit a barrier.
In 2019 an inquest jury concluded she died accidentally.
During a sentencing hearing at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, Mr Justice Spencer said: "This was an utterly tragic waste of a young life."
He added there was "no prospect of the fine being paid" given the company operating the park at the time had since gone into administration.
"It is important that lessons are learned and the seriousness of the defendant company's failing in this case is marked by an appropriate punishment."
Drayton Manor Park Ltd previously admitted a breach under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution.
The park had a history of failings on the same ride before the death of the 11-year-old, from Leicester, the court was told during the two-day hearing.
At the start of the hearing on Wednesday, James Puzey, barrister for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), told the judge the accident had happened "in context of the systemic failures of safety on this ride".
"The control measures they had were failing every day," he added.
Between 2011-2013, park records show there were four instances of people falling into the water at the ride before it was closed following Evha's death.
One of the incidents was in 2013, when 10-year-old Patrick Treacy fell into the Splash Canyon attraction and had to be rescued by a member of the public.
The 11-year-old, who was on an end-of-year school trip with Jameah Girls Academy, was unsupervised on the ride and at times, along with other pupils, was standing up.
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March 18, 2021 at 11:42PM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-56426318
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