Testimony continues in Rye Playland death trial

Testimony continued Friday in the lawsuit involving the death of a 7-year-old boy at Rye Playland. In August 2005, Jon-Kely Cassara died of blunt trauma to the head after being trapped under a conveyor belt on the Ye Olde Mill, a boat-in-the-dark amusement ride. Cassara?s family is suing Westchester County, which owns the landmark park. Former Playland Director Joseph Montalto was the first witness to take the stand on Thursday. He said that there were not enough people working on the ride that day and that only one operator was licensed. The Cassara family attorney told the jury of six that the county did not have the safety procedures in place to operate the ride. Westchester County's attorney, Stuart Kahan, argues that safety procedures weren?t the reason Cassara died. Kahan told the jury that the boy himself was at fault for standing up and trying to get off the ride in the middle of the dark tunnel. The victim?s mother, Elayne Cassara, maintains that she was misled into thinking she was putting her son on a child-friendly and safe ride. ?What's most important to me is that obviously this never happens to anyone else,? said Elayne Cassara. Trial opens in '05 Rye Playland ride death