An in-media-res clip from TechnicalSafetyBC’s Incident Summary #II-1919912-2025, a final determination on the investigation into a non-fatal injury incident at a carnival in Port Hardy, British Columbia on May 31st, 2025: “The two patrons were loaded into the PCU by two experienced operators and one younger attendant who was the child of the Foreman of the Zipper ride and had been helping and was described as ‘really good at cracking buckets.’ (An industry term for loading and unloading a caged style ride). The younger attendant had been trained in the specific procedures of loading and unloading the PCU but did not have the experience or assertiveness necessary to deal with situations that deviated from the normal routine. The Foreman had left the area for a brief time after repairing a component to wash up. The younger attendant, who travels with the carnival, was left around the Zipper ride where they were helping the loading and unloading of passengers, which they had done several times previously at different fair locations. Neither attendant was able to intervene or prevent loading of intoxicated passengers despite the posted rules and manufacturer and code requirements indicating intoxicated riders were not allowed.”

“The younger attendant later described the rider as ‘half asleep and half awake,'” lol. Meaning the kid was “qualified” to operate a “Zipper” but didn’t know how to identify drunk people.