Zip Lines Pulled From Emmaus Park After 2 Kids Break Arms

A failed "Superman" maneuver by a boy in Emmaus Community Park is among the reasons that the Borough of Emmaus decided to remove the zip lines from the park playground, according to Borough Manager Shane Pepe. 

Pepe responded to an email Tuesday afternoon questioning what had happened to the two popular zip lines, confirming that two injuries this summer caused the borough to take down those parts of the playground - for now.

"We experienced two injuries that we are aware of this summer, both were broken arms," Pepe writes. "One child, a male, did a 'Superman' jump to try to catch the zip line and missed it completely, falling to the ground and dislocating a shoulder. A female fell off of the zip line to the ground and decided to try to catch herself on the way down, breaking her elbow." 

"Children’s safety is our first and foremost priority," Pepe continued. "If we have a piece of equipment that we feel may be dangerous, or for some reason is resulting in injuries, we have a responsibility to look into it. It is our belief that the equipment is properly installed, however, we also feel that the three broken arms [that we are aware of] in a 12-month period is entirely too much. 

"While we can’t hold the child’s hand and make sure they don’t fall off, or stand there to make sure that they don’t try to pull some type of acrobatic stunt, we do believe it is our responsibility to examine every injury that occurs on the equipment and whether or not there is something more that we can do to make it more child friendly," he said.