Two teenagers tragically lost their lives in a bungee jumping accident, witnessed by one of the parents in shock. The incident occurred at the Beach Bungee attraction in the North Myrtle Beach/Atlantic Beach area of South Carolina.
The victims were identified as 17-year-old Zachary Steinke and 19-year-old Michael Nash, who worked as a “bungee jump master” at the site. The attraction featured a 175-foot-tall archway where visitors were lifted in a cage-like structure.
The teenagers were lifted to a height of 150 to 160 feet inside the cage, unaware that the original lifting system was malfunctioning. The owners of Beach Bungee had replaced the faulty system with a makeshift commercial shrimping mechanism, which proved to be inadequate.
On a rainy evening of August 10, 1993, with reduced visibility, the wire rope supporting the cage snapped under the strain, causing the cage to plummet to the ground. Both Zachary and Michael sustained fatal injuries from the impact.
Following the tragedy, a legal battle unfolded. The families of the victims were represented by John Kassel, who successfully secured a $12 million judgment against the individual owners of Beach Bungee in 1995. The court held the owners personally liable for bypassing safety protocols to maintain tourist business.
Kassel pursued another legal case against the South Carolina Department of Labor, resulting in a $2 million verdict that was upheld by the state Supreme Court. The families of the victims received justice after the tragic incident caused by the negligence of the attraction’s owners.
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