Death leads to bill to study if zip lines need regulation

WESTFIELD, NC (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers are considering whether to have a state agency study whether zip lines in the state need to be regulated.

The bill was proposed after a 12-year-old girl died after falling 20 feet from a zip line at a summer camp in the North Carolina mountains last month.

Rep. Ted Davis Jr. told The News & Observer of Raleigh he thinks the state needs uniform regulations for zip lines.

“I am very serious about this,” Davis said. “If what I am doing can prevent just one small child from getting killed in the future and putting their family through what the Burneys are going through, then it’ll be worth it.”

The New Hanover County Republican added the provision to a bill increasing penalties for operating amusement rides illegally.

NC Youth Camp Association Board President Adam Boyd wants safe zip lines. He says they are a terrific way of giving campers new perspectives on nature from above the tree canopy.

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