PUBLIC SAFETY Accidents occur on two Orange...

PUBLIC SAFETY

Accidents occur on two Orange County Fair rides

State officials are investigating two accidents at the Orange

County Fair -- both of which happened Sunday within hours of each

other on rides right next to each other.

On Sunday afternoon, 30-year-old Aidyl Sofia-Gonzalez of La Canada

Flintridge got hurt on the Adrenaline Drop after the ride’s nets

failed to break her freefall. On that attraction, riders fall from

the trapdoor 110 feet in the air untethered by bungee cords or

harnesses. Sofia-Gonzalez was released from the hospital on Monday on

crutches. The ride remains closed to fairgoers and under

investigation.

The second accident happened on the Booster after a pin came loose

and hit 23-year-old Staci Tomack on the face. Her family said she

underwent surgery, but ride operators reported that she suffered “a

cut.” State officials are investigating the extent of her injuries.

Fair officials said Tomack declined to take the ambulance and rode

with her friend to the hospital.

The Booster was up and running on Tuesday after an inspector from

the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health inspected it.

* The district attorney on Friday dropped sex abuse charges

against a former Costa Mesa pastor accused of molesting a boy about

25 years ago. Denis Lyons, 69, the pastor of St. John the Baptist

Church on Baker Street for 18 years, walked out of Harbor Justice

Center a free man on Friday, three weeks after a U.S. Supreme Court

decision struck down a California law that allows prosecution of old

sex crimes.

* The attorney for one of three teenagers accused of gang raping

an unconscious 16-year-old girl at a Corona del Mar home last July

filed a motion on Tuesday alleging prosecutorial misconduct. Joseph

Cavallo, who is defending Greg Haidl, asked in his motion that the

case against his client be dismissed because the district attorney

overcharged Haidl and failed to give Cavallo information.

Haidl, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner -- who were all 17 at the

time of the incident -- face 24 counts. If convicted of all charges,

Greg Haidl, son of Orange County Asst. Sheriff Don Haidl, faces 104

years to life in prison.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.