Killed On Impact
Pay up: $2.7 million settlement reached in roller coaster death at Houston Rodeo
The Hi-Miler's highest peak extends to 55 feet.
Brian Greenhouse fell from approximately 28 feet. A $2.7 million settlement wasagreed to on Thursday.2onthebeat.com
The family of the man who died in a fall from a roller coaster at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2011 is getting a seven-figure settlement.
As KTRK Ch. 13 first reported, a settlement was agreed to in principle on Thursday in Greenhouse's death. Neither Ray Cammack Shows nor RodeoHouston have admitted liability, but have both agreed to settle the suit for $2.7 million ($1.95 million for Greenhouse's young son, and the remainder for the victim's parents). A judge still needs to sign off the settlement.
The 47-year-old Greenhouse fell approximately 28 feet from a car on the Hi-Miler roller coaster, and was killed upon impact.
Inspections by Ray Cammack Shows (the carnival's operator) and RodeoHouston found no malfunction in the car, but Greenhouse's family maintained that the ride didn't properly restrain him.
One toxicology report conducted after Greenhouse's death showed that he had a blood alcohol content of .11.
The federal government launched its own investigation a month after the incident, and in the end, an 800-page Consumer Product Safety Commission report deemed the ride "safe."
The Greenhouse family sued Ray Cammack Shows and RodeoHouston for "wrongful death." And before the suit could go to a jury, they settled.
The Hi-Miler didn't make an appearance at the Rodeo carnival this year; however, a 3-year-old girl suffered contusions and a concussion after getting flung six to eight feet from the Techno Jump.
