LIGONIER, Pa. — Monica Thompson said she normally doesn’t ride roller coasters, but Monday afternoon, she stepped onto the Wild Mouse at Idlewild Park for her younger cousin. About an hour later, Thompson was being rescued by the Darlington Fire Department.
“I don’t usually ride roller coasters,” Thompson said. “And that was my first time riding one. And if I had, it was when I was younger. So, I finally did it, and it’s just like, ugh.”
That’s what Monica said after she and her 8-year-old cousin were rescued from the Wild Mouse ride at Idlewild on Monday afternoon. She said she has a fear of heights, which made the hour-long rescue seem like forever.
“I couldn’t look straight or look at how far we were up, so I was just turned down the whole entire time. So the back of the ride was just hurting my back because it was just sitting there,” Thompson said.
Idlewild Park and Soak Zone confirmed the rescue in a statement saying in part,
“Wild mouse car experienced an unexpected stoppage. No injuries have been reported. The ride will be temporarily closed while a review is conducted.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees the inspection of the rides at the park. According to its website, the Wild Mouse was last inspected on June 22. It’s Pennsylvania law for attractions like the Wild Mouse to be inspected at least once every 30 days.
Kurt Rose is Chief of the Darlington Volunteer Fire Department in Ligonier Township.
He says his team is trained on every single ride at Idlewild and uses equipment that is stored at the park.
“They keep a 65-foot man lift on hand for such rescues, and we have trained with their maintenance department on that equipment and that ride,” Chief Rose said.
Thompson said her family got onto the ride just before 5 p.m. and says sitting in the heat during that time of day was difficult.
“I was sweating a lot. It was hot up there,” she said. “I would say the worst thing that happened is I got sunburnt on my back.”
She said being rescued didn’t just mean getting down; it also meant finally getting out of the heat.
“As soon as I saw them, I was just like, ‘oh my god!’ then we were on the way down, and I was like, ‘we made it! We made it!’ I was so happy. I felt so relieved,” she said.
It is unclear when the Wild Mouse will reopen.
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