VILLAGE OF MARSHALL -- A ride operator at Little Amerricka was fired over the weekend after a grandparent captured video of him nodding off while on the job.
The concerned grandparent shared the video with management after witnessing the man's behavior while children were on the ride.
Thomas Fotusky said he and his wife brought their 3-year-old granddaughter to Little Amerricka because they thought the rides would be more toddler friendly.
"Up until this, everything was fine," said Fotusky.
His granddaughter was on the Red Baron ride at the park when he started to notice the operator closing his eyes, nodding off and almost falling over on several occasions.
"The ride operator seemed to be completely inebriated," said Fotusky. "There were more than a dozen parents that were just losing it."
Darrell Klompmaker, the general manager at Little Amerricka says they sent the man home as soon as they became aware of his behavior, and he was later fired.
"We take safety very, very seriously here," said Klompmaker. "We did not witness what they were saying. But based on what they showed me, he was terminated."
Klompmaker said he couldn't say whether the man was under the influence of anything. Fotusky says he hopes the park will take more precautions during the hiring process in the future.
"The ride is one thing once it's operational, but you have an attendant that's not paying attention to the ride and something occurs, that could be problematic," said Fotusky.
