3 suffer minor injuries after mountain coaster crash

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - Two carts on a mountain coaster crashed into each other earlier this month in Branson, sending three people to the hospital with minor injuries.

Police reports show that the issue appears to be with a collision avoidance system on the Runaway Branson Mountain Coaster, a ride that is designed to allow people to control their speed as they descend a steep hillside on bobsled-like carts, the Springfield News-Leader reports. The system apparently didn't work on Oct. 4, causing a stopped cart to be rear-ended.

Manager Kris Harvey told police that there's a series of sensors along the track that monitor the distance between carts. If a cart gets too close to another cart, the brake is automatically applied.

Harvey didn't have an explanation after the collision for why the system didn't stop the crash. The report says he told police that "sometimes one of the carts won't link up with the security for a moment but there is never a known reason for it."

Branson Fire Chief Ted Martin said three carts were involved. He said the rider of the first cart manually stopped the cart, the second cart was stopped by the computer system and the third cart crashed into the second cart. Martin said the carts involved in the crash were inspected on the company's computer system and no issues or faults in the system were found.

Martin said Runaway Mountain Coaster staff went through all the safety systems the morning after the crash and no issues were discovered along the track. Martin said Monday he has no concerns about the safety of the business, which has reopened.