Four people went to the hospital and several others were injured after a Dollywood tram hit the back of another passenger tram at the park on Saturday afternoon, according to Dollywood and a report by the Pigeon Forge Police Department.
Officials said the tram stopped on the side of a service road around 4 p.m. According to Pigeon Forge Police Chief Richard Catlett, the driver told police he looked up and the other tram had stopped and he had no way of stopping in time.
This was a low-speed collision, said Pete Owens, vice president of marketing and public relations. Owens said the tram was going at 10 miles per hour or fewer.
Owen's also said the driver wasn't new. He has driven the trams for more than 15 years but, according to Owens, Dollywood is investigating internally to evaluate the incident and operational procedures.
Dollywood initially told 10News that several guests received bumps and bruises, and four were transported to the LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville with minor injuries.
An incident report from Pigeon Forge Police said injuries ranged from a possible broken wrist, concussions, lacerations, back and neck injuries, shortness of breath, and other minor to moderate injuries.
"Several children were transported for precautionary measures," the report said.
At first, the park said three people were taken to the hospital, but a fourth person asked to be transported Saturday night.
The park said that those guests were transported to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution." As of Sunday afternoon, they were all treated and released from the hospital.
The report also said that several parties complained about the response time of EMT and ambulance services and stated that they called 911 because they weren't sure if Dollywood officials did.
Other parties stated that they were upset because there were no first-aid kits available on the tram, according to the report.
Owens said Dollywood had removed the kits from the trams several years ago, but have placed advanced medical gear in parking lot response vehicles that are staffed by trained EMTs and paramedics.
"In the case of Saturday’s tram accident, Dollywood Security Lt. Gene Sasser responded within minutes of the incident. Based on his medical training, he started triage and called for additional backup from Dollywood safety personnel and from area EMS," Owens said Tuesday.
10News spoke with a man who said he was on the tram when the crash happened Saturday.
"It was kind of a great big shock for a few seconds," Teddy Smith said. "The driver never came around to check on anybody."
Four hospitalized after Dollywood tram crash
Smith also said there was a woman with a broken wrist, a guy in the front who hit his head and got knocked out, and a baby had a bloody nose.
"Finally, I went down to some guy talking on the radio and said 'is there some safety people coming here' and he said 'yeah they'll be here in a few minutes," Smith said. "It was not what any of us expected from Dollywood. That's a high dollar nice place and to not have an emergency kit or anything on any of those vehicles, I just don't understand why."
He said the tram was about half to two-thirds full.
Dollywood officials said the incident is still being investigated. Park officials said they have spoken to witnesses and people who were injured as part of the investigation.
"Each one of our guests is very important to us, and we are dealing with each family individually," Owens said.
Incidents like this are rare and Owens said more than four million riders were safely transported last year.
Officials could not comment on whether anyone was aboard the smaller tram when it hit the larger tram.