Roller coaster ride at North Highlands amusement park gets stuck for second time in 3 months
Several children were rescued by firefighters Saturday night after being trapped on a roller coaster for nearly an hour at Scandia Fun Center in North Highlands.
For the second time in three months, riders’ fun came to an abrupt halt on the Crazy Dane Coaster three dozen feet above the ground around 9:30 p.m. at the park that sits on the 5000 block of Hillsdale Boulevard near Madison Avenue.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Capt. Parker Wilbourn said crews helped park employees safely lower the jammed yellow and green car from approximately 30-40 feet. The car was pictured by the fire department sitting inches from where the track turns downward.
Fire officials said in a tweet that the children on the ride were cold (temperatures were in the 40s) but unharmed.
According to previous Bee reporting, the same roller coaster ride got stuck in late November 2022. During the previous incident, firefighters had to remove the riders from 65 feet in the air via aerial lander truck.
The ride has been in operation since March 2015, according to the Roller Coaster Database, which collects amusement ride data. According to RCDB, it was originally known as the Wild Mouse when it debuted in 1999 at the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
The steel coaster was manufactured by Portland, Oregon-based E&F Miler Industries and was previously destroyed along the Jersey Shore by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, according to another enthusiast website, Coasterpedia.
A call to Scandia’s general manager about the incident was not immediately returned.
Each sit-down car on the ride holds four people, two side-by-side. The car’s small size allows it to make “quick fun turns,” according to Scandia’s signage posted next to the ride.
Scandia Fun Center is also home to miniature golf, bumper boats and go-carts, and several other thrill rides like the Sky Screamer, a landmark along Interstate 80, and the Swedish Scrambler.
