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Two parents say a recently-opened trampoline park in the Greater Toronto Area is “not safe” after their 11-year-old son fell to the ground from a zipline on Saturday.
Ramin Azizi was at Aerosports Trampoline Park in Scarborough attempting to cross the zipline on an obstacle course. His harness failed, his father said, and the child fell roughly six metres, hitting the ground on his back.
Ramin said that while he was lying there, waiting for paramedics to arrive, he was scared he was going to die.
“I was feeling very traumatized,” he told CBC Toronto in an interview on Tuesday.
His father, Sadir Azizi, said Saturday was Ramin’s first time at Aerosports Trampoline Park. He said his son frequently goes to similar parks, which Azizi said almost always have backup safety measures, like a net or padding on the ground. But this time, Azizi said, there weren’t any.
“I ran as fast as I could,” Azizi said.
He feared the worst: “Maybe he’s going to break his spinal cord, maybe he’s going to crack open his skull.”
Azizi said Ramin was released from SickKids around 2 a.m. Sunday after many medical tests. Since then, Ramin has been resting in his bed. He bruised his back, but Ramin said he does not have any broken bones.
Ramin’s parents, Sadir Azizi and Mona Azizi, said they are speaking out about the fall because they don’t want another child to get hurt. (Max Beauchemin/CBC)
Azizi and Ramin’s mother, Mona Azizi, said they don’t want other children to get hurt.
“He’s lucky, and we are taking that blessing to let others know,” the boy’s father said.
In a statement to CBC Toronto, Aerosports Trampoline Park said the incident is being reviewed by their legal counsel and insurance providers.
“Given that this involves a minor, we are not providing interviews or additional details at this time,” the park’s statement says.
Ramin fell onto a go-carting track that was thankfully not running that day, his father said. Azizi said he thinks a rope on his son’s harness came untied and caused the fall.
A 911 call was made reporting an injured child at the location, confirmed Laurie McCann, a Toronto police spokesperson. She said the incident was deemed non-criminal.
Zipline was unauthorized, says Ont. authority
After Ramin fell, park staff were nowhere to be seen, Azizi said. He said other children continued to use the zipline while Ramin was on the ground, and it was another parent who called paramedics.
The family has not heard from the trampoline park following the incident, Azizi said, and has not received an apology.
He said he heard from Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) that the zipline has since been closed.
After investigating the zipline on Tuesday, the TSSA determined the device falls within the authority’s jurisdiction, according to spokesperson Ammara Khan.
“The operator had not notified TSSA that it had been installed and therefore it was not authorized,” Khan told CBC Toronto.
She said it’s possible that legal action could be taken against the park.
