Passing the Buck over Six-Year-Old's Death

A little boy died last week after he was struck in the head by flying metal debris at a Monster Truck show in Tacoma, WA... a senseless, horrible tragedy. And close behind, for me, in the Horror Department was the immediate response of the public authorities in that area to the accident.

The Seattle Times writes: "It was not clear... whether any public agency will conduct its own investigation. Police spokesman Fulghum said he doesn't expect a full police probe because it was "more an industrial-type accident."

But a spokeswoman for the State Department of Labor and Industries' safety program, said her agency wouldn't likely get involved because it wasn't a workplace-safety issue or one of the two kinds of public-safety issues it regulates: amusement park rides and go-carts.

I had to read this twice; I couldn't believe my eyes. Bureaucratic 'red tape' has their hands tied  -so they can't do something about the hazards causing this child's death? The police and the government are on the record passing the buck to each other because the accident has fallen into some kind of 'crack' between regulations?!

Why NOT Investigate!?

How about these questions as some obvious starting points for an investigation (and I am no authority):

• What kind of safety barriers were in place at the show's facility to protect spectators from flying debris?
• What kind of posted warnings stated the possibility of such exposure to harm?
• Why did the next Monster Truck shows proceed as usual with no changes to the safety precautions?
• How is a kid watching entertainment with his family an "industrial-type" occasion?
• Why are Washington kids' safety only of concern in public places when they're on amusement rides, or drive go-carts?

 This six-year-old's death is no less deserving of an investigation than ANY accident - especially since ALL accidents are preventable.

How many times do authorities (and the public) brush off a preventable accident as a "fluke"??

That makes me so angry... I just want to fly over to Tacoma and sit on those spectator stands until someone looks into how the next little kid, or adult, can avoid being struck and killed.