The operator of an Australian rainforest ride has been jailed for nearly three years over an accident that left a British woman brain damaged.
A Cairns District Court jury found 43-year-old Steve Clark guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Lucy Keen, 27, on Queensland state's Cape Tribulation in May 2004.
The trial heard that Miss Keen plunged 66ft to the ground after Clark failed to properly secure her on to a zip line on the Flying Fox, a suspended carrier that allows riders to glide along a network of elevated cables.
The Flying Fox ride involves people being attached to a harness and then gliding across a rope connected between two points in the forest, enabling them to "jungle surf".
Prosecutor Angus Edwards said Clark was suffering from a hangover on the day of the accident and failed to do a last-minute check before launching Miss Keen from the viewing platform.
Miss Keen, from Oxfordshire, now required round-the-clock care, was unable to talk and would probably never recover from her injuries, Edwards said.
Clark was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail, and must serve a minimum of 16 months before becoming eligible for parole.
