Rafting Ride Accident at Theme Park Leaves One Dead

4 had been hospitalized after raft overturned Saturday at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2021 8:30 AM CDT

A holiday weekend outing at an Iowa amusement park has left one dead and three others hospitalized after an accident on one of the rides. WHO13 reports that the incident on the Raging River attraction happened Saturday evening, with the park noting in a statement that a raft on the river with six riders overturned around 7:30pm. Four of the riders were transported to a nearby hospital, three of them critically injured. The park notes that the ride had just been inspected on Friday and "was found to be in sound working order."

The park reacted late Sunday to the news that one of the injured had died, noting it was "saddened" and "working closely with both the State and local authorities" to find out what exactly happened. "We ask for your thoughts and prayers for the Guest and their family, as well as for our team members who were onsite," the park added. The Des Moines Register notes that there was a fatal accident on the ride in 2016, when 68-year-old park employee Steve Booher fell on the ride's conveyor belt while helping riders out of their rafts, fracturing his skull and suffering a traumatic brain injury. The Raging River ride has been temporarily closed while an investigation takes place, though the park itself opened Sunday. (More freak accident stories.)

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