Victim in Adventureland accident was a student at Linn-Mar

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The 11-year-old boy killed in an accident on a water ride at Adventureland was about to enter the 6th grade at Boulder Peak Intermediate in the Linn-Mar School District.

The pastor for the family of Michael Jaramillo told KCRG-TV9 the boy’s family and friends in the Marion area are grieving deeply for the accident. Jaramillo died when the raft he was on with his family flipped on the Raging River ride at Adventureland on Saturday. Michael’s brother, David, remains in critical condition according to a GoFundMe page friends started for the family.

Jaramillo’s father told ABC News he tried to help his sons escape the ride but couldn’t unbuckle them.

“When it flipped over, all of us were trapped in the seats and seat belts,” David Jaramillo said. “I see the silhouette of my son’s trying to grab each other, grab us, they want us to help them. We couldn’t do it.”

Altoona police are still investigating how the accident happened. The ride had reopened Friday after closing last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. KCRG-TV9 obtained the inspection report done the day before the accident, showing all items as “satisfactory” with the inspector only writing “no code violations noted at this time”.

A worker died on the same ride in 2016. Steven Booher, 68, was helping riders off the boats when the ride moved suddenly. Booher became trapped between a conveyor belt and concrete wall before the ride could be shut down. The park’s insurer settled a wrongful death lawsuit in that case, which claimed negligence.