Girl Seriously Injured at Amusement Park in Kentucky

[Ericka_Jarett]

I didn't want to make the title gross or anything

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19359307/
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/062107whasmjdTopTowerOfPower.26e52d52.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/21/six.flags.accident/


I feel so bad for this girl, she is 13 or 16, I couldn't even imagine this happening to someone. Hope she is ok. You know a huge lawsuit is going to come from it since it malfunctioned

[Sol]

My goodness!

[snowzilla]

I'm utterly speechless. That poor girl. OMG.

[mrs_pell]

That's horrible!!!

When I was in high school in Southern Indiana, my cousin and I went to Kentucky Kingdom. We were riding a scrambler-type ride and the bar that goes across us came open. Thankfully we both had our arms on it instead of in the air. We both instinctively just screamed and pulled it shut. When the ride ended, we told the people what had happened and they said, "Oh...sorry about that" and then just kept on letting people ride it without closing it down to check it out. :rolleyes:

[Ericka_Jarett]

Just want others to know, there are no pics and the description may be a bit much for some to handle, thus I was trying to be tame on the title.

[rene']

OMG! I just read this on cnn.com. How horrible! That poor girl, I feel so bad for her.:(

[Weddings by]

This is just awful. I have two 13-year-old daughters and I just can't imagine this. :( ETA--Actually, I can and that's why it's so sad to me. I'm just sitting here praying for her and trying to not bawl.

[kam]

What kind of malfunction would cause this type of injury? I wonder if they've shut down all Superman rides with the same construction. This is beyond scary. That poor little girl.

[IrishEyes]

Wow, and I always thought that permanent rides (as compared to traveling carnival rides that are set up temporarily) would have less issues. How often are these rides inspected?

I remember our local Six Flags had one death and on another occasion had a ride break down that caused several injuries.

[camberne]

Ew ew ew!! My son and I rode that ride in April when we went to Louisville on vacation!! They had closed other rides the day we were there, but they weren't really "officially open". They were only open that week because of Spring Break... so there was still construction going on around the park. It's not a very big amusement park at all (compared to Busch Gardens, Disney, Universal Studios and Kings Dominion which we're used to).

[LyLMyssChaos]

How incredibly horrific, both for the girl it happened to and those whom witnessed it. I cannot fathom experiencing something like this.

[Ericka_Jarett]

kam - apparently a cable came undone and wrapped around her legs. Just the thought of it is horrible.

[chefker]

OMG, that's horrifying. :eek: I cannot imagine how painful and scary that must have been.

[coquelicot]

I'm wincing just thinking about the pain. That poor girl.

When I was 13, back before Six Flags took over KK, my BFF and I were riding the same ride that I think mrs_pell is describing. Near the end of the ride, my right foot flew out of the side of the car and hit the platform. I felt okay at first, but as it turns out, I had a sprained ankle. I certainly hope they did more for this girl than they did for me at KK. They wrapped my foot and ankle in loose GAUZE (not even an Ace Bandage) and told me that in 2 hours, I'd forget all about it. I couldn't even walk right for a week, and had to have a park employee help me hop out to the car waiting for me. My aunt, who had nurse's training, was furious when she finally saw my (much-better) ankle 5 days later and INSISTED that I go to the emergency room. She couldn't believe that they didn't offer to pay for any sort of medical treatment.

I've ridden the Hellavator (sorry, I can't do the name change, it'll always be Hellavator to me). Pretty scary stuff, though I never imagined anything like THAT could happen. I hope this girl's ok. They'd sure be justified in suing Six Flags.

[mkredhead]

As a five-year spokesperson for a major theme park, my heart breaks for both the girl and the park. We had a major coaster accident last year, and it was the most intense scruntity I've experienced in my life. I would hate for anyone else to go through that.

I can't speak for Six Flags, but at our park (part of the Cedar Fair chain) all rides are inspected daily. Wooden roller coasters are walked every single morning - the maintenance guys know what needs to be replaced/tightened/changed/adjusted by sight and sound. Most of the guys have been at the park 25 years or more and are experts. Steel coasters are also inspected regularly (Steel requires less daily maintenance than wooden coasters). All rides go through mechanical, electrical and operational tests every signle day without fail. This includes flat rides, such as the tower in question.

In the off season, every coaster car is taken apart to its nuts and bolts, inspected, tested and rebuilt. Each ride goes through rigerous testing.

Safety is the cornerstone of the theme park industry. Without it, the industry would cease to exist. At our park, I know that the maintenance staff felt personally responsible for the safety and security of our guests. Being on the "other side of the fence" also allowed me to see the level of state scruntity. Ohio has an entire staff dedicated to ride safety. All rides (traveling or stationary) must be certified by the State of Ohio before they can run. This is true for carnivals, fairs, etc. and major theme parks. If the ride is not certified, it does not run. The State comes by at the beginning of the season or event, as well as unannounced throughout the event/year.

I think it's important to remember that BILLIONS of safe rides are given around the country each year. It is easy to get bogged down by the stories of accidents and troubles, but that is the exception, not the rule.

See you on the midways.

[Sophia]

Girl injured on amusement park ride has surgery (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/22/six.flags.accident/index.html) CNN.com

[shopaholic]

How horrible.

I haven't been to Six Flags in about 4-5 years (mainly because its so darn expensive) but I always thought they had clauses on their tickets or by entrances about safety and injuries. Granted, this case is extreme but can the family still sue and win a settlement?

[Dally]

You would think in a case like this Six Flags would pay for the medical bills, at the very least. I'd be surprised if they didn't. Poor girl. :(

[jbenny75]

OMG, what a horrifyingly freak accident. That poor girl.

[mkredhead]

A guest can definitely sue a park and win. There is a clause on the back of the ticket, but it won't stand up in court against something of this magnitude. Six Flags will definitely foot her medical bills and then some.

[sea74]

mkredhead: That is very interesting insight. Thanks for posting about the other side of it.

I cannot even imagine what this poor girl and the rest of the people on the ride went through. How utterly horrific.

[shopaholic]

A guest can definitely sue a park and win. There is a clause on the back of the ticket, but it won't stand up in court against something of this magnitude. Six Flags will definitely foot her medical bills and then some.

good to know!


Now, as far as her surgery what exactly are they doing? The article didn't go into detail for privacy. Could they possibly re-attach her feet?

[Ericka_Jarett]

I imagine that tried to re-attach her feet. Hope they were successful no matter what the sugery was.

[jimmysgirl424]

Just awful..that poor girl and her family. :( Interesting that parks not even related to the Six Flags chain are all shutting down their rides that are like the "Tower of Terror".

mkredhead I read your post with particular interest and really appreciate you sharing your experience and insight. Thank you!

[mkredhead]

Our drop ride has been down since the incident occurred. This is pretty standard practice in the industry and in no way indicates that there are issues with all rides of this kind. Even if the ride is just "similar" it's better to be safe than sorry. Shutting down the ride and providing a thorough inspection is very important. It's also very important to find out what went wrong at Six Flags so that it doesn't happen elsewhere.

Media across the country will also be taking this opportunity to call up parks in their area who have similar rides to ask for comment, thoughts, etc. It's an interesting issue because as a park you don't want to be associated with tragedy or discomfort of any kind. There are always a lot of requests for on-camera interviews, showing the park and its specific/similar ride that is down. This is touchy because a casual viewer will hear "tragedy severs feet" and look up only to see your ride on television. He/she immediately assumes this happened at his/her home park and freak out. That is how rumors get started!

[MaineBelle]

mkredhead

Thanks for the insight. With all the inspections and safety regulations you listed, I'm wondering how you still had a major accident last year. I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm truly wondering how these things happen - is it usually human error, mechanical failure, or something else? Other than avoiding amusement parks, is there anything guests can do to keep themselves safe?

[imagirliegirl]

Oh f&*@!!!! :eek:

I've always been terrified of that ride breaking. Now my fear can be validated and I don't ever have to ride it again. That's so freaky and awful.

[TX Sweetheart]

DH & I went to Six Flags last summer and he rode that particular ride (not the specific park in the article)... I absolutely refused... looked scary enough when you're standing on the ground!

That must be so terrifying to have happen... and holy crap to have been a fellow passenger and witnessed it! Eek!

[MichelleRenee]

This story is horrible. Today we drove by that actual park (not intentionally, but we were going through the state on that highway) and we saw the Superman ride and it gave me major goose bumps and I seriously thought I was going to puke.

I don't ever ride any rides because I am scared of them and this has made my fear about a thousand times worse!

[BTB]

I think it's important to remember that BILLIONS of safe rides are given around the country each year.

There was an article in Time last year about how bad Americans in general are at weighing risk - we hear of an accident like this, and say, "I'm never going on a ride like that again!" Yet we all get into our cars each day, an act exponentially more dangerous.

According to a study in the January 2002 Annals of Emergency Medicine, the risk of serious injury on an amusement park ride is 1 in 15 million. That same year, the risk of death in a car crash - not serious injury, but death - was 1 per 7000 car rides according to the National Safety Council. (I would've liked to have found parallel stats, but alas, this is what I came up with.)

I feel badly for the girl, and hope her surgery is successful and her recovery is smooth. But this incident will have zero impact on my enjoyment of amusement park rides. The stats I dug up, however, do make me think twice about driving to the grocery store.

[mkredhead]

MaineBelle, good question. The cause of our accident (which did not result in any deaths) was a cracked vertical post. This post cracked at the exact moment Train A went over the area. This lead to two more cracks. When Train B went over the area about five minutes later, it felt as though the riders were hitting a pothole. This would not have been detected in any morning maintenance or state inspections, since it happened at that moment. It was simply an accident. The coaster in question is made of wood, which is a very different animal.

[Ericka_Jarett]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070704/NEWS01/707041190

Update on this girl, her right foot was able to be reattached, her left was beyond repair to try to reattach.

[SiValleySteph]

I saw this story today.

Girl who lost feet on thrill ride walks (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/amusement_park_accident;_ylt=AnGeiJ_RmCMsmeoP0GFCJ aGs0NUE)

Kaitlyn Lasitter, 14, began walking last week with the help of a prosthetic leg and crutches

[camberne]

Great news!! :)