A similar ride in Spain.
Posted on 06/22/2007 7:11:48 PM PDT by Hal1950
13-Year-Old Girl Had Feet Chopped Off On Superman Ride; 8 More Rides Shut Down
Six Flags and another company shut down eight more thrill rides Friday around the country, including a ride at a North Carolina amusement park, after a teenage girl had her feet chopped off at the ankle on a Superman Tower of Power.
State inspectors, meanwhile, returned to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, where the accident happened, to examine the ride, which lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 mph.
It was unclear at what point during the ride the 13-year-old was injured Thursday, said Wendy Goldberg, a Six Flags spokeswoman. The girl was taken to a hospital. She was not identified and details of her condition were not immediately available Friday.
Chris Williams, who witnessed the event, told CBS affiliate WLKY that riders saw the cable break as it got to the top on the right-hand side.
Treva Smith said it snapped again as the ride descended. "The people on the ride just came and hit the ground," Smith said.
Next, Williams said he saw the teen maimed. "As the ride came down, the wire swung left, struck the young lady on the back side of my children," Williams said.
Williams' daughter had traded seats with the 13-year-old, and was sitting on the other side of the ride.
Smith told WLKY she raced to the ride to find members of her group who had been on it.
"When I got up there, the lady, she was just sitting there and she didn’t have no legs," Smith said. "She didn’t have no legs at all. She was just calm, probably in shock from everything."
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
A similar ride in Spain.
HOLY Sh#t!!!
That nearly made me faint just looking at it!
With regard to the rides, we’ll probably find out the cables that broke were imported from China.
My 8 year old son just went on a similar ride last week.. it is now closed down pending inspection.
I pray that they will somehow be able to reattach this poor girl’s feet.
Damn! That makes my stomach queasy just looking at it. I hate heights and fast rides. I couldn’t even stand the old wood-frame roller coasters from the 50’s. I was more of a carousel person. The wildest I ever got with amusement rides was the tilt-a-whirl and bumper cars.
This is happening everywhere.
I realize that from a statistical standpoint these things have generally been very safe, but I have never seen the point of climbing into a seat or harness on a ride at an amusement park simply for the sake of some cheap thrills.
Fox had this story on this afternoon. They stated her legs were cut off and later said “cut off at the ankles.” Wouldn’t that mean her feet, not her legs, were cut off?
It does not make the accident any less tragic. However’ the story was a bit confusing.
That being said, what an unspeakable tragedy. Prayers for her and her doctors.
Next, Williams said he saw the teen maimed. "As the ride came down, the wire swung left, struck the young lady on the back side of my children," Williams said.
I guess in retrospect unrestrained exposed cables will be a serious design flaw.
The reporter on Fox said “Legs cut off at the ankles.”
Sounds to me like this witness is about as credible as your average reporter.
This is happening everywhere.
In Mogolia? Sumatra? Link.
Kennywood Park, near Pittsburgh, closed “the Pitt Fall” ride today for inspection. It has since re-opened.
I think the Six Flags Over Texas ride called the Cliffhanger was the same as this one. The first time I rode it, when the platform we were on finally arrived at its highest point, I remember being terrified and thinking, this is insane.
The dump was triggered and away we went. It was breathtaking, to say the least. Then, like an idiot, I got back in line to do it again. When the platform got to the top again, the same terror returned and I thought, what the hell am I doing? The dump was triggered and away we went.
Only this time, as I left the ride, I said, “I’m never going to do that again.” And I never did.
Six Flags has re-themed some of its rides. The rides didn’t change but the names and artwork did.
You're right, this story is confusing. This is the second witness who I know of that has said she didn't have any legs. The other was a young teenaged girl I saw on the news. She repeated twice that the girl didn't have any legs. Horrible.
“When I got up there, the lady, she was just sitting there and she didn’t have no legs,” Smith said. “She didn’t have no legs at all. She was just calm, probably in shock from everything.”
i’m sorry but doesn’t that mean she DID have legs? when two negatives are combined... when is the public school system going to start teaching people how to speak??
Similar, but they have another ride besides the cliffhanger called Superman Tower of Power. It is much smoother than the Cliffhanger and it is even higher than the orange tower that you can go up on.
I can’t believe that I let my 11 year old ride this a couple months ago. No more of that.
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