Hersheypark denies boy, 9, had ‘near death’ experience on the Storm Runner rollercoaster

A father who claims his 9-year-old son faced a near death experience on the Storm Runner rollercoaster has no legal grounds to sue Hersheypark, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts is contending in a bid to have the case dismissed.

The son of Anthony DeNoto III wasn’t physically injured when he leaped off the rollercoaster just as it was preparing to launch in June 2018, Hershey attorney Kevin C. McNamara stressed in reply to the suit DeNoto filed in Dauphin County Court.

And, McNamara insisted, “Storm Runner is not defective or unreasonably dangerous.”

DeNoto, a former Boiling Springs resident, is claiming the opposite.

He says his son had to jump off the coaster in a panic because it was starting to roll without his safety harness being secured. Workers at the ride didn’t make a thorough safety check, DeNoto claims. The incident left his son traumatized, he contends.

DeNoto claims he, too, suffered for having to watch his son’s ordeal without being able to help because he was secured on the coaster. “Mr. Denoto cannot yet rid himself of the regular thoughts of the potential scenario of helplessly watching his son fall to a grisly death,” the suit states.

The Storm Runner launches from its station and goes from 0 to 72 mph in 2 seconds. It roars over a 150-foot-tall “top hat” curve, goes upside down three times and turns rapidly. It stops so rapidly that riders are jerked in their seats.

In reply to Denoto’s suit, Hershey doesn’t concede that anything actually went wrong with Storm Runner’s operation.

It also denies that DeNoto’s son faced death or serious injury. “He exited the ride car without physical injury while the train was still in the station,” the answer to the suit states.