A state worker who was supposed to inspect the miniature train that derailed Saturday — killing 6-year-old Benji Easler of Gaffney and injuring 28 people — resigned Monday after he told officials he falsified an inspection form last week that cleared the train for use.
The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has suspended all miniature train rides in South Carolina pending the outcome of the investigation into the tragedy at Spartanburg's Cleveland Park.
The Spartanburg Public Safety Department continued its investigation Monday, saying part of the focus was on whether the derailment was the result of mechanical failure or human error. Capt. Art Littlejohn said that despite international media reports to the contrary, there is no evidence the ride was sabotaged.
They have a safety inspector for the miniature train? I don't believe we had such a thing back when I was the miniature train operator at the Franke Park Zoo many, many summers ago. Of course this was back in the Dark Ages before OSHA and the Nanny State. There was just me, in the first year of college, and the young woman (a whole year older than me) who took the money and gave out the tickets. It's kind of scary to realize people were putting the safety of little kids in the hands and judgment of a punk college kid like me.
Even if this train was sabotaged, good luck on finding the evidence. It doesn't take much -- just a stone on the tracks will do it. What little training I got consisted mainly of "Keep your eyes on the tracks" -- not that easy to do with a bunch of 6- to 10-year-olds yelling "Go faster!" at you. At least twice a week, I had to stop the train, get out to remove something from the rails, then resume. Like I said, in retrospect, pretty scary.
