A Victoria father has died after an accident ended in tragedy at a trampoline park in Richmond Saturday.
Family and friends have identified the man on social media as Jay Greenwood, a Victoria-based contractor.
The exact events that took place leading up to Greenwood’s death are under investigation by Richmond RCMP, who said in a statement Wednesday that a 46-year-old man was with his two children when he allegedly performed “a series of acrobatic manoeuvres prior to a fall that caused serious injury and cardiac arrest.”
BC Ambulance Services confirmed an unidentified man was taken to hospital at about 7 p.m., and was listed in critical condition.
Witnesses who were at the Richmond Extreme Air Park said Greenwood was jumping into a foam pit when he broke his neck.
Trampoline parks have become more common across B.C. in recent years. According to the Extreme Air Park website, there are three locations owned by the company in B.C. and one in Calgary.
Following the incident, witnesses have taken to social media voicing their outrage on how the park handled the accident, as well as concerns around the safety protocols in place.
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In a post on Facebook, witness Charlie Bouzakis, who was at the park with his kids, called the incident “unbelievable, horrible,” alleging that three teen employees were on site at the time of the accident.
“Staff had no idea what to do and I called 911,” another witness, Karm Leyegh, wrote on Facebook.
In a response on Bouzakis posts, Austin Dremeneau – who said he was speaking on behalf of Extreme Air Park – claimed that protocols were followed and that “although our team were supervising, it is impossible to prevent any accident that happens in such an instantaneous manner, that is not a result of equipment failure, even with a one-to-one staff to customer ratio.”
“This circumstance weighs heavy on all of our hearts,” he wrote.
Black Press Media has put calls out to the Richmond air park.Family and friends mourn loss
According to Facebook posts from his family and friends, those close to Greenwood were on their way to Vancouver to say their goodbyes Monday.
“For those of you who knew him, you’ll know he was the most hilarious cantankerous bastard you could ever meet,” his sister, Adrienne Leigh Greenwood wrote.
“Most importantly he was an amazing daddy to his little girls who he just loved more than life itself.”
In an update posted Wednesday, Adrienne said her brother has been approved as an organ donor, and that “some lucky human being will receive the biggest strongest heart on the planet.”
Dwight Fengstad wrote, “the most awesome, happy, interesting and friggan successful cool ginger duded on the planet died doing what he loves…. playing with his daughters at a trampoline park in Van…”
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