"It feels good that it's finally happening. We've been looking forward to this," Mikael Elmegard told TT outside the courtroom at Stockholm District Court on Monday.
He and his wife Karin Elmegard are two of twelve plaintiffs in the case regarding the accident on the Jetline roller coaster, which partially derailed when a newly manufactured support arm in the front carriage broke during a ride on June 25, 2023.
Fell out of the wagon
A woman who fell to the ground died and ten other people, including five children, were injured in the accident. Mikael and Karin Elmegard, who were sitting at the back of the train, were also thrown out of the carriage.
"My wife fell to the ground, about seven meters. I got caught on a beam and managed to pull myself up and sit there," says Mikael Elmegard.
The prosecution began its presentation by showing a film in which both women are seen falling. Karin Elmegard suffered serious injuries but survived and is in court on Monday with her husband.
Several others were injured by heavy impacts to the rails during the train's braking.
Gröna Lund stands as a company, together with the companies Mekosmos and the now bankrupt Göteborgs Mekaniska Werkstad (GMW), accused of gross negligence causing death, gross negligence causing bodily harm and causing danger to others.
For Gröna Lund, twelve million kronor is being sought in corporate fines, and for the other two, three million each is being sought.
Defective support arm
All three are alleged to have been involved in various ways in the creation of the defective support arm that was installed on Jetline in March 2023 – and in connection with that, they were guilty of a crime through negligence.
For Gröna Lund, it is mainly about the fact that the order for the support arm to be manufactured allegedly lacked important parts regarding the requirements that must be met during manufacture. The park placed the order for the new support arms with Mekosmos, who in turn placed them with GMW.
It deviates from the original designs, especially in that a plate is missing and pipe fittings have not been processed and that materials have been replaced. In addition, the welding during manufacture is deficient, says prosecutor Frida Molander.
The deficiencies in the support arm meant that it could not handle the pressures that arose on Jetline, according to the Swedish Accident Investigation Board's investigation.
Like the other two companies, Gröna Lund denies any wrongdoing. This also means that all claims for damages from the plaintiffs are being contested, according to the park's lawyer Jonas Tamm.
Marc Skogelin/TT
The fatal accident at Gröna Lund
TT
The accident occurred on June 25, 2023, when the Jetline roller coaster partially derailed after the support arm on the underside of the front car broke. The parts of the support arm with the wheels on either side of the train completely came loose and fell off.
The Swedish National Accident Investigation Board (SHK) harshly criticized Gröna Lund in its final report. According to SHK, Gröna Lund's order for the support arm in question, which was placed in 2019, was deficient.
Gröna Lund placed the order for the new support arms with Mekosmos, who in turn placed them with GMW. According to police and prosecutors, Gröna Lund's order lacked important parts regarding the requirements that must be met during manufacturing.
GMW, which made the support arms, lacked the certification to manufacture fairground parts, and missed a crucial part of the welding. This meant that the support arm would not be able to withstand the pressures that occurred on the Jetline. This could not be detected during later inspections.
