Reason behind carnival death debated

SAND LAKE, Mich. (WOOD) - The last conversation between Steven Walker and Steve McCann early Tuesday morning was haunting.

"When he was climbing up there...he looked at me and was like...this is going to be one hell of a ride," Walker told 24 Hour News 8.

The carnival ride McCann and Walker were assigned to take down following Sand Lake's annual Fourth of July celebration was parked near a 4,800-volt transmission line.

Just how close is up for debate.

The ride, called the Fireball, has two extended arms that fold down onto a trailer bed.

But one of those arms at least appeared to be close to the power lines crossing the park where the celebration was held.

McCann climbed to the top of one arm with a stick, about four feet long with black electrical tape for a handle and a notch in the end to grab the wires, and moved them so the arms from the ride wouldn't catch them.

"He was holding it up, and while it was going down he was ducking with that. When that one cleared, he let that one go to grab the other one," said Walker.

But something went wrong. Exactly what isn't clear. One line came into contact with either the ride or McCann.

There were sparks.

Walker watched from the ground about 36 feet below.

"Everybody was sitting there...runnin' and all that. After awhile he fell face first into the concrete."

That's what happened.

Why it happened is still up for debate.

Walker, a construction worker by trade who picks up odd jobs including helping set up and tear down the Sand Lake carnival, said the ride was set up too close to the power lines.

But Tom McDonagh who owns McDonagh's Amusements in Chesaning, agrees that McCann never should have been on top of that arm.

"There didn't seem to be a reason for him to be up there," said Tom McDonagh, owner of the amusement company that owns the ride.

"We would never put anybody in harm's way."

McDonagh told 24 Hour News 8 the ride was far enough away from the electrical lines, even with the folding arms extended.

State inspectors told 24 Hour News 8 earlier the ride was set up well within regulations while it was in operation.

McDonagh said he's not sure why McCann, 41, climbed up on the arm, but suggests it may have been a depth perception problem.

He thinks McCann, who McDonagh said set up the ride, may have misjudged the proximity of the lines from ground level, and climbed up with the stick to move something that didn't need to be moved.

"No one told him to go up there," said McDonagh. "This stick action -- that's not procedure."

While Walker and McDonagh disagree on whether McCann should or should not have been up there, they do agree on one thing -- it was a tragedy that never should have happened.

"I think it's a senseless death. I mean, he could have been with his family," said Walker.

Officials with the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration are continuing its investigation.