Company fined for roller coaster death

SWANSEA, Wales, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The owner of a Welsh theme park was ordered to pay a heavy fine Thursday for negligence that led to a teenager falling 100 feet from a roller coaster.

Oakwood Leisure Ltd. entered a guilty plea in Swansea Crown Court, The Daily Mail reported. The company was fined 250,000 pounds ($375,000).

Hayley Williams, 16, died in 2004 when she plunged from the Hydro ride at the Oakwood park near Narberth. Prosecutors said that health and safety inspectors who examined hours of security camera footage later found that park employees did not check the safety restraints of about 70 percent of those on the ride.

The judge said that the fine would have been larger except that Oakwood has lost money during the last four years.

Hayley's parents, Beverly and Alan Williams of Pontypool, said they were not satisfied with the punishment.

"We have not had justice for Hayley either today or at the inquest," the couple said in a statement. "Oakwood have had a fine but we have had a life sentence. Our daughter went to Oakwood to enjoy herself -- not to lose her life. We still don't have any closure."