Man left his children unattended to ride roller coasters at Cedar Point, police say

SANDUSKY, Ohio — A man was charged after police said he left his children unattended several times to go ride roller coasters at Cedar Point.

Sandusky police said that on Aug. 17, a woman found a small child playing in the dirt near the Magnum XL-200 coaster. The woman walked back with the child toward the Corkscrew and spotted a wagon with another unattended child sitting inside. The woman told police she waited for nearly 20 minutes before the kids’ father showed up.

The father, Anthony Gallina, 36, told police he and his oldest daughter, 9, got in line for the Corkscrew and left his 8-year-old daughter in charge of watching his other two daughters, who are 2 and 4. He told officers he was only in line for a few minutes before returning, but police noticed that the ride was shut down for at least 20 minutes while Gallina was in line.

Gallina and his daughters got to the amusement park around 1:30 p.m. and after officers spoke with Gallina, they determined he left his kids unattended multiple times throughout the day.

Court documents state that Gallina is charged with endangering children because he failed to provide supervision and caused a substantial risk of harm to his children. A judge determined that he could be released on his own recognizance because he is the only one to care for his children.

The incident was reported to the Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services since Gallina and his children are from Kansas, Ohio.

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