The man who was operating a Wisconsin amusement park ride that a Broward girl fell 100 feet off of in July admitted he smoked pot three days before the accident.
Charles Carnell, 33, has already been charged with felony reckless injury after the fall that nearly killed 12-year-old Teagan Marti, of Parkland, while she was riding Terminal Velocity, a popular ride at Extreme World Amusements in Wisconsin Dells.
Carnell told police he'd smoking marijuana just a few days before Marti's fall, but denied he'd been smoking the day he was operating the ride, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Carnell wasn't tested for drugs or alcohol after the July 30 incident because police didn't believe it had anything to do with the fall.
According to the criminal complaint, Carnell told investigators he "blanked out" when he sent Marti plunging to the ground below. He was supposed to check to see if the safety net was in place and get a signal from below that it was safe to release the rider.
Carnell admitted he didn't, according to the report. In his interview with police, Carnell said he should have been more cautious.
"I know better," Carnell said, according to the transcript of the interview. "I should do it. I have no reason why I didn't do it. I have no excuse whatsoever. I would be upset with any of my employees if they weren't doing it."
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When Marti jumped from the platform, she landed head first on the pavement.
Marti, who lives in Parkland and was on vacation with her family when the incident happened, is still in a Wisconsin hospital in critical condition with a broken back and many other injuries, and could be paralyzed.
Carnell, a 17-year employee of the amusement park, is out on $1,000 bond. A judge ruled he is not allowed to operate rides while he is out on bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
