Man falls to death from Star City ride

MANILA, Philippines – A 39-year-old man died on Saturday afternoon after falling from a roller coaster ride at Star City in Pasay City. In her report aired over dzBB, Tuesday Niu said the Pasay City Police identified the victim as Carmelito Peña, a resident of Binangonan, Rizal. Authorities are still trying to determine the real cause of the accident. A TV report from GMA News' John Consulta said Star City’s initial investigation showed that ride was about to stop when Peña fell 15 meters from the "Starflyer" at about 3:30 p.m. They, however, stressed that it would be impossible for Peña to fall because the harnesses of the ride’s seats were locked by computerized control. In fact, Peña’s seat harness were found to be still locked even after the accident. A witness said Peña's body hit the metal framing of the ride before finally falling to the ground. "Unang-una pong tinamaan niya sa part ng katawan niya sa tubo. Yung pinaka base after non, sir, na-release siya before pa lang siya bumagsak ng floor," said Jay Ilagan. [“His body first hit the (metal) tube after that he fell to the floor."] Meanwhile, a Starflyer ride attendant disclosed that before Peño got on the ride he asked her if falling off would kill him. "Sabi niya sa akin: 'Miss, kung sakali bang mahulog ako dito mamatay ako?' Nagulat po ako kasi siya lang yung nagtanong sa akin ng ganon," Jhoann Gubat said. [“He told me: 'Miss, will I die in case I fall from this ride?' I was shocked because he was the only who asked me that."] Meanwhile, Star City officials assured the Peña family of their assistance. The police, on the other hand, said they would look at all possible angles to determine the cause of the incident. - GMANews.TV