The Omaha neighborhood known today as Benson looked a whole lot different 100 years ago. Krug Park was an amusement park in the area currently known as Gallagher Park. On July 24, 1930, it was the site of the deadliest roller coaster accident in the nation’s history. The Big Dipper rollercoaster crashed in the early evening hours after a bolt in the brake shoe jammed a rear wheel, causing four cars to derail and plunge approximately 35 feet to the ground. Four people died and 17 people were injured. The event led to a temporary ban on rollercoasters in Omaha and significantly contributed to the decline and eventual closure of Krug Park in 1940. It was landscaped into a traditional park in 1955 and was renamed Gallagher Park.
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| Gallagher Park |
