New Details Revealed About Tourist Who Fell 82 Feet to His Death Zip-Lining on ‘Bucket List’ Trip

need to know

• Dean Anson Sanderson and Sharon Sanderson fell to the ground while ziplining during a Jungle Surfing Canopy Tour in Cape Tribulation, Australia, on October 22, 2019

• The court recently heard the couple were on a “bucket list” trip when the incident occurred which left Dean dead and Sharon seriously injured

• “We were going very fast… we started to go down… and then suddenly we went down and I remember screaming,” Sharon told the court

A man has died after falling 82 feet from a zipline while on a “bucket list” trip with his wife in Australia.

On October 22, 2019, Dean Anson Sanderson, 50, and his wife Sharon Sanderson fell to the ground while on a Jungle Surfing Canopy Tour at Cape Tribulation in northern Queensland. “About midway along the length of the zipline, they lost momentum and began to fall,” attorney April Freeman previously told the court.

The father-of-three was the first to get on the zip line, suffering serious head and chest injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Sharon suffered serious injuries, including broken ribs and a broken shoulder blade.

She recently revealed to the court that their decision to go ziplining came after suffering “very poor health conditions”, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), sydney morning herald and cairns post the report said.

“Dean was a funny guy, he was very charismatic and loved his family,” Sharon told the court, according to ABC. “From a work perspective, he took his job very seriously… He took safety very seriously.”

“He was enjoying life…a few years ago his health was really bad,” she continued, adding, “He started to see the world in a different way. He wanted to start crossing things off his bucket list.”

Sharon recalled in court that they fell from approximately 65 to 82 feet while taxiing between two platforms, which were 86 meters apart, ABC reported.

“We were going very fast… we started to go down… and then suddenly we went down and I remember screaming,” Sharon told the court.

She remembers Dean telling her “They were probably just playing us.” However, she then woke up on the ground to find her husband unconscious.

After Sharon screamed for help, she testified that it took “a good five minutes” before staff and another tourist came to their aid, ABC reported.

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Sharon, a former cardiology nurse, claimed in court that staff did not know how to use the defibrillator on her husband and another tourist had to instruct them, ABC reported.

Tourist Steve Pattinson, who reportedly arrived at the scene, gave evidence of his medical training in court on Monday. sydney morning herald. He remembers telling staff he wanted to get off the zip line so he could help the couple.

“They had no idea. They were all young, in their early 20s,” Pattinson said of the employees, according to the outlet. “I think they were shown the equipment but never used it. I controlled the scene. I was just trained to do it. Someone had to do it.”

Pattinson and crew spent about 90 minutes trying to resuscitate Dean before paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead. sydney morning herald the report said.

Andrew Hayward, who was in the same tour group as Dean and Sharon, also testified. He told the court that while he was waiting to be hooked to the next section of the zipline, he heard a “cracking” sound as the platform began to shake, ABC reported.

He and his partner were put down after staff issued a “red alert”.

Hayward claims he suffered torn knee ligaments and staff failed to provide him with help before he went to Cairns Hospital for treatment.

He added that he and others were forced to return to the minibus but were not informed that Dean had died.

Cape Tribulation Zipline and Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours were operated by Keydane, but according to the company, the company is no longer registered. Sydney Morning Herald.

Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours is listed on Google as permanently closed.

Court proceedings are ongoing.

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