B.C. man's death at trampoline park was an accident, coroner's report finds

A coroner's report into the death of a Richmond, B.C., man who was fatally injured at a trampoline park nearly two years ago has found the incident was an accident.

Jason Greenwood, 46, died after doing a front-flip into a foam pit at an Extreme Air Park in the city on Jan. 24, 2018. He had asked his family to take a video of the somersault, the report said, but didn't resurface after the jump.

Greenwood, a stepfather to three children, later died in hospital. His death sparked a lawsuit against the park and official recommendations that trampoline parks be regulated in B.C.for the first time, due to the potential public safety risk.

The report released Tuesday found Greenwood landed head-first after bouncing off a trampoline into the foam pit during a visit to the park with two children.When Greenwood didn't reappear, his family and bystanders began to dig through the metre-deep pit looking for him.

"The scene was very chaotic with a dozen or more people in and out of the foam pit and people still playing nearby," the report reads.

Air park staff were alerted to the situation when Greenwood was found, unresponsive andupside downin the pit. The report said witnesses who phoned 911got conflicting instructions: one responder told one callerGreenwood shouldn't be moved, while another responder said the opposite.

Firefighters removed Greenwood from the pit 21 minutes after he first dove in. Aninjury to his cervical spine had damaged his spinal cord, which stopped his breathing. The report also found Greenwood had a "moderate" level of alcohol in his system but did not say whether that was a factor in his death.

The report said "a more timely medical aid response with respiratory support" could have prevented Greenwood's death.

It also found none of the three staff members working at the park that day were trained in first aid or CPR, nor had they been given instructions on how to respond to an emergency other than to phone 911.

Trampoline parks have existed for the better part of a decadebut have not been regulatedin Canada.Technical Safety B.C. (TSBC) , the province's regulator ofamusement devices, called on the province to start regulating the parks after Greenwood's death and two separate incidents involving four-year-old children.

The B.C. government agreed.

The coroner's report said it supports the TSBC's advice and did not make any further recommendations to prevent similar deaths.

Greenwood's wife and his three youngstepchildren are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against ExtremeAir Park Inc.,filed in B.C. Supreme Courtlast year.

The company filed a response denyingany negligence, breach of duty of care or failure to warnand said Greenwood signed a long waiver acknowledging the dangers of the park before participating in its activities.