‘It changed my life forever:’ survivor of 1986 mall coaster crash wants memorial
EDMONTON — It’s been 30 years since Rod Chayko was flung from a flying roller-coaster at West Edmonton Mall, and it bothers him still that there is no memorial at the site to honour the three people who died that day.
Chayko was the lucky one, the only survivor in the last car that jumped the track on the popular Mindbender ride on June 14, 1986. The car had been going about 100 km/h when it struck a pillar and hurled its four passengers to the concrete floor below.
The Mindbender — the world’s largest indoor triple-loop roller-coaster in the world’s largest indoor amusement park in what was once the world’s largest shopping centre — had also been billed as one of the world’s safest rides.
It shut down for more than a year and, after safety modifications, remains a main attraction at the mall.