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Man sues Lakeside Amusement Park for roller coaster injury

Daniel DePaola claims he broke his wrist as he held his arms up on the Cyclone.

LAKESIDE, Colo. — Daniel DaPaola says he’s hoping Lakeside Amusement Park will pay his medical bills and make the historic Cyclone roller coaster safer after he broke his wrist.

DePaola claims the injury happened on the roller coaster while he was visiting the park in July of 2021. 

In a lawsuit, DePaola claims a poor restraint system on the Cyclone allowed him to shift while he held up his arms, which "caused his arm to collide with a portion of the Cyclone's track."

“As soon as it impacted, it was very painful,” DePaola told 9NEWS in an interview. “It was a major fracture. There was like multiple pieces and everything.” 

DePaola, who lives in Florida, filed the lawsuit in April of this year. 

In May, lawyers for the park responded to the lawsuit in a court filing, which implied the park is unaware of people raising their hands during roller coaster rides. 

“Defendant specifically denies that it knew or should have known that the Cyclone riders would be raising their hands during the ride,” attorneys for the park wrote. 

The response perplexed DePaola’s attorney, who pointed out that raising arms on roller coaster rides has been a traditional practice. 

“It's kind of funny," attorney Robby Landis told 9NEWS. "I was a little shocked in my communications with them,” 

Landis pointed out that the park’s website featured a photo of people holding their arms in the air while riding the Cyclone. 

An archived image of Lakeside’s website found on the Internet Archive from February of 2022 shows what Landis described. However, the website changed sometime in April. 

Credit: Internet Archive
An archived screenshot of Lakeside Amusement Park's website from February of 2022.

An attorney representing Lakeside Amusement Park declined to comment to 9NEWS about the lawsuit. 

In the court filing filed by the park's attorneys, there was no reference to any disclaimer or sign that warned people about raising their arms during roller coaster rides.

If you have any information about this story or would like to send a news tip, email jeremy@9news.com

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