Girl's Feet Severed on Theme Park Ride (1 Viewer)

[Michael_K_Sr]

I love amusement parks and thrill rides, but I don't think I'll ever look at a freefall ride again...

Girl's Feet Cut Off at Six Flags

One report states that a snapped cable whipped around and severed the young girl's feet. Gruesome. :frowning:

 

[Malcolm R]

It's like something out of "Final Destination".

On the bright side (if there is one), at least the cable didn't strike her above the waist or she'd likely be dead.

 

[MarkHastings]

Man wasn't meant to endure these kind of rides. :frowning:

Many years ago (when these types of rides were just starting out), I knew someone who knew a guy that worked on one of those types of rides as Disney World (Tower of death?). He said that they had to replace the cabling every few days because the tension (from constant use) would weaken the cable.

That was enough to solidify my life long stance on never riding any of these types of rides.

 

[Joseph S]

The video story on the website is actually sponsored by Six Flags???

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I remember "The Edge" at what was then Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, IL. You would free fall and then the track would curve and you'd wind up on your back.

My friends and I went on it once when it first opened. After that, it was closed for repairs most of the time. Apparently the brakes had failed a few times and a few people had received back injuries. Then there was a fatality one summer and the ride shut down permanently.

I'm sure that had a hand in why Marriott got out of the amusement business and sold the park to Six Flags.

What's interesting.. looking at the safety commision report at the bottom of the article, you'll see there's been many more fatalities on "fixed site" amusement park-type rides than the "mobile" carney-type rides. Some of those carney rides scare the sh!t out of me mostly because I don't have a lot of confidence in the people running them.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

I rode The Edge several times and it's an urban myth that anyone was ever killed on it. One of my friends was at the park in '84 when they had the accident that injured a group of teenagers. For all the sensational press it got at the time, the kids were released from the hospital the same night. The ride was later dismantled and operated at another amusement park until last year. Ironically, the company that designed The Edge (Intamin AG) also designed the ride that malfunctioned today. Great America also has one of their freefall towers and it was closed today after the accident in Louisville.

 

[cafink]

You're far more likely to be hurt or killed driving to the park than on any of the rides in the park. Do you have a life long stance on never riding any cars?

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I stand corrected. Thanks Michael... I guess I was just a gullible 16 year old back in '84.

 

[MarkHastings]

Oh come on, that's like saying that your odds of being hit by lighting are less than being killed in a car crash, so it's ok to go out with a metal suit on in a lighting storm. :rolleyes

While driving a car is dangerous, it's necessary....amusement rides AREN'T necessary. I try to avoid unnecessary dangers. And even with driving, I do all I can to avoid danger. If I could find a way to avoid driving completely, I'd be 100% for it! Some dangers you just can't avoid - I can't avoid driving, but I sure as hell can avoid things like amusement parks, playing Russian Roulette , and wearing a giant metal pole on my head during a thunderstorm.

 

[Jay H]

Oh Mark, where is your sense of adventure???

Jay

 

[Matt^Brown]

I live in Louisville but I am just now hearing about this story. (Sorry I am a part time drunk so I don't keep up with the news) Why could they not try to re-attach the girls feet? Also, as a parent what dollar amount do you request to give your child their life back? I can not imagine being 13 and not having feet so besides being crazy and asking for it all what is a real number to numb the pain.

 

[Radioman970]

They've been known to quickly get to the media and report the facts so that it doesn't get skewed. They're really good at doing that.

Terrible story. I feel real bad for that young girl (and anyone in the park that day, to a lesser degree). A day of fun ending like that. Sucks. :frowning:

I'll have no problem visiting a park like Six Flags in the future. It's kind of like swimming in the ocean even though you've seen JAWS and pictures of people who "were just swimming for snorkeling or something".

 

[cafink]

No, it's not like that at all. I simply asserted that of the two activities--driving a car and riding a theme-park ride--driving a car is the more dangerous. I have not and would not suggest that this justifies doing anything (like riding without the safety restraints, for example) to make riding a theme-park ride more dangerous than it already is, as your bizarre "metal suit" comparison suggests.

 

[RobertR]

I guess Mark doesn't swim either, or fly anywhere on vacation, since those are "unnecessary" activities that involve a nonzero level of risk.

 

[MarkHastings]

Ah yes,.....never mind!

 

[Philip Hamm]

No way. Not even close. Not even in the same galaxy! Hundreds of thousands of people visit theme parks all over the USA and the world every day!! If accidents were as prevalent in theme parks as they are with driving you'd have tens of these incidents on a daily basis!

Wow not even close! I think you greatly over-estimate auto safety.

 

[MarkMel]

Yeah stop ganging up on us Marks.

Besides, Mark has some Heelies to get his thrills.


Totally in jest.

This is a tragic story and as a lover of amusement parks this will make me think twice. Although I don't really like the drop rides, roller coasters are my thing, especially the wooden ones.

 

[RobertR]

I suspect this is also an example of thinking one is "safer" when one is in "control" (such as driving) vs. more passive activities such as riding an amusement park ride or being an airline passenger, even though such activities can be shown statistically to be safer than driving.

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

I let CNN.com know that the video they had for this story is preceded by a commercial for Lamisil, featuring two disembodied socks talking to each other. Not the best product placement!

 

[Holadem]

I was gonna take this up but decided to leave it alone. Mark is the king of bizarre (and often flawed) comparisons .

I was just at the local Six Flag last weekend with the little one. Horrible news .

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H