THUNDER BAY — City police have charged two Thunder Bay residents after an incident on the weekend that saw a stolen vehicle crash into the recently-restored historic carousel at Chippewa Park.
A 26-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman are both charged with mischief over $5,000 and theft of a motor vehicle.
Police were initially dispatched to the park just after 7:30 am on Saturday, where they learned that two people in the vehicle at the time of the collision had fled on foot.
On Saturday afternoon, a male suspect turned himself in at police headquarters, while a female suspect was arrested that evening.
Both accused individuals have been released from custody with conditions and future appearance dates.
The carousel remains shut down until repairs can be completed.
City officials are working with the province's Technical Standards and Safety Authority to determine the nature of the damage and what needs to be fixed.
Cory Halvorsen, manager of parks and open spaces for the city, said an inspection would be conducted Monday afternoon, but it was too early to estimate when the popular ride will reopen.
"This is right in the middle of the operating season. It's tough to tell exactly until we get our inspections done...We're hoping days, but again it all has to be done through the lens of safety and getting it back in service through communications with the TSSA. It may require either a final inspection or some information to be submitted."
According to Halvorsen, the worst damage occurred to a chariot that was scheduled to be replaced.
"That looks to have been basically destroyed by the impact, but the adjacent horses, I believe, were not impacted. There are some poles in the structure of the floor of the carousel that are being assessed for repairs right now."
He said city staff were shocked to learn that the operator of a vehicle had actually driven it through the perimeter fencing.
"And it went between the row of trees and made its way right onto the floor of the carousel itself, which is something we never anticipated seeing."
