2 Teen Girls Awarded $275K Each After Getting Stuck on Amusement Park Ride

What was supposed to be a summer thrill became 25 minutes of absolute fear for two Oregon teens trapped upside down on a malfunctioning amusement park ride. Now, they have won a major legal victory.

Fox News reported on Thursday, August 20, that Xitlali Gomez-Salais and Evie Yannotta, who were 13 and 14 at the time, were riding the AtmosFEAR pendulum ride at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland when it stalled mid-cycle in June 2024, leaving them among 28 riders stranded in the air.

A Multnomah County jury awarded each teen $275,000 on Wednesday after the duo sued the park and ride manufacturer Zamperla for $2 million.

According to ABC affiliate KATU, both lawsuits accuse Oaks Park of negligence, alleging the park failed to properly maintain and operate the ride, lacked the tools needed to make a quick repair, and didn’t adequately warn riders of potential dangers.

The complaints also claim the park failed to keep riders informed about what was happening while they were stuck.

During the hearing, Yannotta told jurors she was terrified the safety restraints might give out while she was hanging upside down. “Just the highest terror I ever felt,” she said, according to The Oregonian.

“There’s nothing like it ever in my life.” She said she watched other riders get sick around her as the minutes dragged on.

“So many people were throwing up at that point, and I thought I might throw up too,” she said.

Gomez-Salais described a different kind of fear, being suspended directly above people she knew.

“I didn’t want people to see me die,” she said. “It’s hard to be in a position like that, where your friends are underneath you.”

Both teens later developed post-traumatic stress and anxiety, according to KATU. Yannotta said her injuries also forced her to stop competing in martial arts.

Attorney Michael Fuller, who represented both teens, said they each sought counseling, treatment and medication in the aftermath.

Celebrating the verdict, Yannotta’s family issued a statement obtained by WSB-TV that read, “For over two years, Oaks Park denied any fault or liability in this extremely traumatic incident. Oaks Park finally admitted either they and/or Zamperla were at fault a week ago. We STILL do not know what caused the ride to so severely malfunction, which is quite scary … Evie is a resilient young woman, yes, but due to the negligence of Oaks Park and/or Zamperla, she suffered a torturous experience for 25 minutes. The negligence continued even after the ride malfunction as a result of a weak emergency-response plan at Oaks Park.”

According to Fox News, a park spokesperson also issued a statement after the verdict: “While we agree that the ride should not have become stuck, we are grateful that all of the riders are safe, and this incident is now resolved.”

The cause of the malfunction has not been publicly determined.