On the eve of the grand opening Friday of Navy Pier’s $3.2 million Ferris wheel, the head of the authority overseeing the pier’s operations turned on the television and saw a near nightmare come true.
On TV, James Reilly saw pictures of detached cars dangling from a Ferris wheel-type ride at the Most Holy Redeemer Church carnival in Evergreen Park.
“My first thought was, `It’s a tragedy,’ ” said Reilly, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which oversees the pier and McCormick Place. “I thought the timing wasn’t so good.”
Thursday night, two of the 16 cars on the ride crashed into each other. Two people were hospitalized, and 15 others were slightly injured.
Pier officials said the two rides are different. The pier’s Ferris wheel is a permanent structure.
“The biggest safety factor we have is the supports,” Reilly said. The pylons that support the 150-foot wheel by Lake Michigan are sunk into the lake bed to steady the ride through forceful winds.
Secondly, unlike the carnival ride, which uses enclosed cars that spin laterally while the wheel rotates, the ride at the pier is a slow-paced attraction.
“This is not a thrill ride,” said Keith Malick, the pier’s assistant manager for entertainment. “This is a leisurely, recreational ride.”
While politicians and corporate sponsors were celebrating the opening of the pier’s Ferris wheel, state and local inspectors were investigating the cause of the church carnival crash.
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“We have a dozen different scenarios, but so far none are jelling together,” said Evergreen Park Fire Chief John C. Hojek. “It was a weird circumstance.”
State inspectors wouldn’t elaborate. But witnesses said the two cars struck a 4-foot-tall loudspeaker on the deck of the ride, known as the Skydiver. The cars then continued on until about the 10 o’clock position before stopping.
“We know the speaker was hit, but we don’t know if that was a secondary strike or an initial strike,” Hojek said.
The ride was tested by state inspectors Wednesday, the day before the carnival opened, said Carl Kimble, chief of the amusement park inspection division of the Illinois Department of Labor.
The carnival and its rides are operated by Miller Amusements of Palos Heights. Officials there declined to comment Friday.
One of the two people hospitalized, Kelly Wigent, 16, was released Friday from Christ Hospital and Medical Center, Oak Lawn. Information on the second hospitalized victim was unavailable.
The carnival, at 95th Street and Millard Avenue, will continue to operate through Sunday.
That news drew mixed reviews from area youngsters.
“You won’t see me back there,” said Ryan Doherty, 13, of Evergreen Park.
Others were less worried.
“It probably happens everywhere,” said 13-year-old Joe Kosur. “I’ll go on.”