It was August 1999 when O'Leary lost her little brother. The family says 12-year-old Joshua Smurphat was on a drop ride at a California amusement park when slipped out of his seat and fell to his death. His mom saw it all. I was standing five feet from where he fell when he did die, said Tami Smurphat.

Joshua Smurphat was a 12-year-old boy from Sunnyvale, California, who tragically died on August 22, 1999, after falling from the "Drop Zone Stunt Tower" ride at Paramount’s Great America (now California's Great America) in Santa Clara. Joshua, who had severe physical and mental disabilities, somehow slipped out of his over-the-shoulder safety harness while the ride was in its free-fall descent, falling approximately 100 feet to the ground. The incident sparked a massive investigation and multiple lawsuits; witnesses claimed the harness "popped open," while park officials maintained it was still locked when the car returned to the base. Ultimately, the district attorney's office found no evidence of criminal negligence, but the tragedy became a pivotal catalyst for the passage of stricter amusement park safety regulations in California (Assembly Bill 850). The ride was eventually modified with extra seat belts and safety straps to prevent any possibility of a rider slipping under the harness, and Joshua's legacy remains a somber chapter in theme park safety history.