Tuesday, August 4, 2015

OSHA opened an investigation July 22 at the Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in South Whitehall Township amusement and water park after emplyee injury

Dorney Park employee hospitalized; OSHA investigating

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in South Whitehall Township is seen in April 2011. (Matt Smith | For lehighvalleylive.com) 
 
 
 By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com 
 
August 03, 2015
 
South Whitehall Township, PA
 









Federal investigators are probing Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened the probe July 22 at the South Whitehall Township amusement and water park.

"It was prompted by an employee being hospitalized," OSHA spokeswoman Leni Fortson said.

The administration has six months to conclude the investigation.

Fortson said she could not further detail the incident because it is an open investigation.

Efforts were not immediately successful to reach Dorney Park parent company Cedar Fair LP for comment.

Cedar Fair, based in Sandusky, Ohio, owns 11 amusement parks, three outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario. It also operates Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park in California under a management contract. 

Dorney Park was also the subject of an OSHA investigation in 2014, after a teen worker suffered burns upon collapsing near a fryer in a food stand. OSHA said it cited one serious violation, under Cedar Fair's duty to develop and implement procedures for protecting employees while they worked outdoors in direct sunlight and in small food stands where heat sources exist.

The company fought the findings, which called for a $7,000 fine and $2,000 fee.

Cedar Fair has been investing in Dorney Park in recent years, including with the opening of The Snake Pit at Wildwater Kingdom for 2014 and the family friendly Cedar Creek Flyers carriage ride introduced for 2015.