Raft at Adventureland Was Put Back in Service Less Than 2 Hours Before Fatal Accident
It's been nearly two weeks since 11-year-old Cedar Rapids boy Michael Jaramillo suffered injuries that took his life when the Raging River raft his family was riding in at Adventureland overturned. The early evening accident happened at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 3 and authorities are still trying to determine what caused the raft to flip. We've now learned it had been taken out of service for a time earlier in the day, along with several others.
According to KCCI, an Iowa Division of Labor accident report shows the Jaramillo family was riding in the #2 raft. The report says it was one of the rafts that had been removed from the ride earlier in the day because of "deflated air bladders." KWQC says the Iowa Division of Labor report shows the raft had been back in service for just an hour and 45-minutes when the accident occurred.
KCCI reports water was getting inside the raft when the ride began and that it hit the bottom of the Raging River channel numerous times before it flipped over. Both Adventureland staff and Altoona police said following the tragic accident that the raft was partially deflated.
16-year-old David Jaramillo Jr. is still on life support at a Des Moines hospital, but is showing signs of improvement.
The Raging River remains closed as the investigation continues.