Two teenagers fell to their deaths while bungee jumping in South Carolina as the parents of one of them watched in horror. The incident occurred on August 10, 1993, at the Beach Bungee attraction on the Grand Strand in the North Myrtle Beach/Atlantic Beach area.
The Victims and the Faulty Equipment
The victims were 17-year-old Zachary Steinke and 19-year-old Michael Nash, a Beach Bungee employee serving as the bungee jump master. The attraction featured a 175-foot-tall steel archway that raised visitors in a cage. On the night of the incident, the two teenagers were lifted to approximately 150 to 160 feet inside the steel jump cage. Unbeknownst to them, the original chain-driven lifting system was broken.
The owners of Beach Bungee decided to replace the faulty system with a makeshift commercial shrimping winch used alongside a wire rope, instead of opting for a like-for-like replacement. The system that was installed was not fit for purpose, leading to the tragic double death.
The Fatal Drop
The evening was particularly wet and rainy, reducing visibility as the cage was lifted into the sky. The wire rope was unable to handle the load and, after being strained, it snapped. As a result, the cage plummeted 150 feet to the ground, leaving both Zachary and Michael with unsurvivable impact injuries. Zachary's parents were among the crowd watching on as the tragedy unfolded; they reportedly attempted CPR on their son.
Legal Battle and Accountability
After the tragedy, a legal battle ensued. John Kassel, representing the families, explained how the cable came to snap: "Without relieving the tension the cable would eventually fail and break. The scenario is well understood and actually has a name: two-blocking. Unfortunately, the bungee jump winch system had no safety devices of any kind. The system two-blocked. The cable ripped apart. The cage fell to the ground. Both boys were killed in front of a crowd of people, including the parents of one of the boys."
Kassel, then a young lawyer, tried the case against the owners and the shrimper in federal court. One issue was to find individual liability and not simply get a verdict against a defunct corporation. He was successful. In 1995, the families of the victims won a $12 million judgment against the individual owners of Beach Bungee. The court ruled the owners could be held personally liable because they bypassed safety systems by installing the faulty shrimping winch in a bid to avoid losing summer tourist business.
Kassel also tried a second case in state court against the South Carolina Department of Labor, the responsible regulatory agency. Despite multiple immunities enjoyed by the state, the families received a $2 million verdict, which was affirmed on appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Kassel noted, "I became close to the families of both boys."
