El Paso bishop orders moratorium on carnival rides at churches
El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz has ordered a moratorium on all mechanical rides at Catholic churches.
The policy will remain in effect until further notice, said Elizabeth O’Hara, the diocese’s communications director.
The directive comes after a 16-year-old, Samantha Aguilar, was thrown from a carnival ride Friday and killed at St. Thomas Aquinas church. The parish was hosting a “Dia de los Nios” festival. Another girl also thrown from the ride suffered minor injuries. A third girl was not ejected.
A preliminary investigation showed the ride from which Aguilar was thrown “had no observable mechanical defects,” according to a statement issued by O’Hara.
Two other children were injured at a church carnival in 2014. The 13-year-olds fell from a ride while it was spinning and a door came open at St. Anthony’s bazaar, according to ABC-7 archives. Both recovered.
O’Hara told ABC-7 Tuesday the diocese does not inspect carnival rides on its property. It is up to each parish to establish security measures.
Playtime Amusements Inc., the company that operated the ride from which Aguilar was thrown, is up to date on its reports to the Texas Department of Insurance. However, the TDI does not inspect the rides. It is up to each owner or operator to make sure they are working correctly and must keep a record of daily inspections.
Playtime Amusements is based in Las Cruces and, according to their Facebook page, sets up carnivals all over southern New Mexico, from Alamogordo to Deming, to Las Cruces and also El Paso. It was established in 2007 and this is the first incident or accident in Texas or New Mexico, the company reported.
In a statement, Bishop Seitz said he was deeply saddened by the accident.
“Words are incapable of expressing our sorrow at the death of this young girl. We know that no words will alleviate her family’s pain but we will ask our merciful God to do through prayer what words are incapable of doing: bringing consolation in the midst of this sorrow.”
