School jumping castle tragedy ‘impossible to predict’
Ethan James |
Families of six children killed in a primary school jumping castle tragedy have been left “shattered and broken” after criminal charges against its operator were dismissed.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident at Tasmania’s Hillcrest Primary School in December 2021.
They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the school’s oval when a wind gust lifted the castle into the air.
Three other children were seriously injured in the accident, which made global headlines.
Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb which set up the equipment, was on Friday found not guilty of failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty.
Ms Gamble had pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleged she exposed the children to a risk of death or serious injury, and faced a 10-day hearing in November.
Magistrate Robert Webster ruled the incident occurred because of an unprecedented “dust devil” which was impossible to predict.
Ms Gamble “in some respects” failed to comply with her health and safety duties, he said.
“However, I am not satisfied, pursuant to (the charge) those failures were a substantial or significant cause of the children being exposed to the risk of serious injury or death,” he said.
Ms Gamble could have taken further steps in relation to the castle’s anchorage, he added, but even if she had done so it would have made no difference to the outcome.
Georgie Burt, mother of Zane Mellor, yelled at Ms Gamble inside the courtroom after the decision was handed down.
“I hope you see them every time I miss a birthday, miss a Christmas,” she said.
Outside court, Ms Burt said the legal decision did not reflect the loss of six children.
“When a system fails to deliver accountability for the deaths and injuries of children it doesn’t just fail our families, it fails justice itself,” she said.
Ms Gamble was in tears outside court, with a lawyer reading a statement on her behalf.
“I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did,” the statement said.
“I am a mother. I can only imagine the pain that other parents are living with each and every day because of this terrible thing that happened.
“Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Andrew Dodt, father of Peter Dodt, said he was shattered and there was still a long path to tread.
“I’ve been broken for a long time and I think I’m going to be broken for a lot more,” he said.
An inquest, which was put on hold because of the criminal proceedings, will be held while a class action has been launched against Ms Gamble and the state of Tasmania.
Ms Gamble and her partner used pegs to tether the castle at four of its eight anchor points.
She had enough pegs available on the day to tether each point, Mr Webster ruled, as she had done at times in the past.
However, even if eight pegs were used, it wouldn’t have prevented the castle from lifting, Mr Webster said.
Weather and technical experts gave evidence during the hearing, while witnesses described a “mini tornado” hitting the oval.
During the hearing, Ms Gamble’s lawyer Chris Dockray argued she had been left out to dry by the castle’s manufacturer.
Mr Webster found the operator had provided four pegs which weren’t complaint with Australian standards and didn’t provide a manual.
On the day in question, Ms Gamble used two of the non-compliant pegs and two other “v-shaped” pegs.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
AAP
