GILBERT, Ariz. — A playground fixture at a popular Gilbert park is gaining attention not for the fun to be had on it, but because of broken bones visitors have gotten while using it.
It's a concrete slide at Gilbert Regional Park and records show people have been seriously injured on it. One person suffered a broken back, another a cracked tailbone, and multiple people broke their ankles while on the slide. Some of the injured are calling for the Town of Gilbert to remove it.
"I would call it dangerous," Cory Clever, who was injured after going down the slide, said. "I understand there's probably thousands of kids a year who go down this slide without incident. And that's to be expected. However, there's been seven major injuries."
Clever took his two young daughters to the park back in December. He said his three-year-old went down and hurt her head. After he witnessed this, Clever went down after her.
“The speed was incredible, I wasn't anticipating that," Clever said.
Once he reached the bottom he recalled hearing a loud popping noise that came from his foot.
"My foot was pointing in the wrong way," he said.
At the hospital, Clever said he was told that his ankle was broken in three places. He couldn't put weight on it for six weeks and was in a wheelchair. Since the injury, Clever has still not been cleared to return to work.
"This has had a massive impact on my life and the life of six other people.”
Documents obtained by 12News from the Town of Gilbert reveal since the park opened in 2019 there have been a total of seven reported injuries.
A spokesperson for Gilbert said three people have filed claims against the Town concerning the injuries they received.
Clever said he filed one of those claims but said it was denied. He said he wants Gilbert officials to make serious safety changes or remove the slide from the park.
“I'll never come back to this great park again until that slide is gone,” Clever said.
In a statement from Gilbert regarding the concrete slide, a spokesperson said changes have been made to make it safer- including a plastic barrier at the top to prevent multiple people from going down at one time, additional woodchips at the bottom for extra cushion when people land and a warning sign for parents to let them know the recommended age range for the slide is kids five to 12 years old.
The statement also said that the playground equipment was designed and installed in accordance with the standards set forth in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety.
Even with the safety changes, Clever said unless workers can reduce the slide's speed, it should still be removed from the park.
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