DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Teen Loses Feet at Six Flags Amusement Park

LOUISVILLE, KY. (CBS/AP) -- Officials at a Louisville amusement park say both of a teenage girl's legs were severed above the ankle while on a thrill ride at the park.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg says the accident happened around 4:45 p.m. Thursday on the Superman Tower of Power.

The girl's name and hometown have not been released because she is a minor.

A broken cable could be seen sticking out from the side of the tower.

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."

Goldberg says it's unclear at what point during the ride the 13-year-old girl was injured. She was taken to University Hospital. There was no word on her condition.

"My son's over there tripping out man," Williams said. "You want to come to a park and feel safe you know. We've got season passes. We're not coming back for sure."

The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops 154 feet, reaching a speed of 54 miles per hour according to the park's Web site. It opened in 1995, then known as "the Hellevator," reports the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The ride has been shut down indefinitely while park officials investigate what caused the accident. The rest of the park remained open.

Six Flags has shut down similar rides at parks in St. Louis, Gurnee, Ill., and near Washington as a safety precaution, Goldberg said. Six Flags Over Texas, near Dallas, also has a Superman Tower of Power, but it is not the same ride, Goldberg said.

There were no reports of injuries on the ride before Thursday, she said.

"Millions of people have safely ridden this ride in our parks," Goldberg said.

The accident led Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. to shut down and inspect drop tower rides at Carowinds in Charlotte, N.C., and other four other of its amusement parks as a precaution, company spokeswoman Stacy Frole said.

The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops 154 feet, reaching a speed of 54 miles per hour according to the park's Web site. It opened in 1995, then known as "the Hellevator," reports the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Intamin, a Swiss company, made all the rides that were closed by both companies, said Craig Ross, a spokesman for Cedar Fair.

"We're going to keep these things down until we're certain it's safe," Ross said. "We'll wait and see."

An e-mail message sent to Intamin was not immediately returned Friday.

The four other Cedar Fair rides that will be shut down are at Kings Island near Cincinnati; Canada's Wonderland, in Toronto; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.; and Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.

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Sad story.

The lawyer considering her case wasn't sure, said she more than likely didn't have a leg to stand on.

That's a shame. Poor girl has her life ahead of her and has something like that happen. I wish her the best.

This is why I don't get on amusment park rides, I've always thought those things were unsafe. Actually, the ride I had been on got stuck two out of three times.

Plus, I sometimes have motion sickness.

Six Flags insurance premiums just doubled after this lawsuit is eventually won.

Time for ticket prices to go up.

I have a feeling there will be short lines for this ride from now on.

That was my cousin who that happened to.

I have been waiting for this,...

Ticket prices should go DOWN, not up.

I used to like the coaster parks, but I think I'll use my age as an excuse now.

OUCH!

That really must have sucked!

I feel sorry for her

1995? Wonder when the last time they replaced the cables was? I hope it wasn't 1995, cause that's a lot of abused for a ride.

Poor girl, you think your taking a safe thrill. Truth is, any one of those rides could go haywire at anytime, that's part of what gives it the thrill.

I saw a 4yo girl drown at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA on Father's day. I was there with my family, and had to steer my kids through the area that they were working on this girl with nonstop CPR. It's pretty much ruined that place for me this year, as we've been going every Father's day for a few years.

It's a bad year for amusement parks.

Thats why amusement parks don't hold interest for me. If you want a real thrill strap up and go sky diving .

Gives new meaning to the Mile High Club doesn't it?

"Teen Loses Feet At Six Flags Amusement Park"

better than

"Left My Heart In San Fransisco"

Teen Loses Feet at Six Flags Amusement Park

I know I'll probably get flamed for this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,But has anyone checked with lost and found?

I'm really surprised at the amount of tastelessness on this thread, particularly by some of the more frequent posters.

What happened to this girl is absolutely terrible and life shattering. For the people on here to make jokes...sorry I just don't see the humor at all.

This is a very, very sad story. Everyone on here should be thankful it didn't happen to them or someone they know.

And it did happen to someone that someone here is related (see DP017 post half way up).

Sorry to hear about this DP017. Thoughts of a speedy recovery for your cousin.

Those rides break all the time, they are not safe. When I was at disney world just about every ride broke when I was on it. Although, being stuck in the Epcot ball isn't going kill anyone, it's just annoying.

It is mind boggling how despicable some people can be. Unbelievable.

See,I understand that it's a sad story. I understand it's a tragedy that this happenned. But in reality,how do jokes or barbs change this situation either way?

Does it make the situation better if no jokes are told?

I'm not saying that it's "tastefull",but what I am saying,is wheather we tell jokes or offer sympathy in these situations,it has absolutely no bearing on the outcome. It changes nothing, nor does it have any effect positive nor negative on this incident.

So I understand how some people may disaprove of it,but if a joke about this subject truely had any bearing either way on this story,I seriously doubt any would be told.

But the fact is,nothing any of us say,nor none of our comments,will hurt nor help this girls situation. So no harm is being done to her as a result of them.''JMHO

Of course there's no harm to come from it, but IMO I just think it's distasteful to joke about a young girl who had both of her legs taken off. Basically put it this way- if you knew the girl, would you still tell these jokes? I think not.

This is a very sad incident and I really hope Six Flags gets what they deserve.

To everyone who is saying how dangerous amusement rides are, they are machines and like any machine, they can break. Unfortunately they can have serious accidents and sometimes they do not receive the maintenance they need (which I think Six Flags is guilty of in this situation), but that includes every other machine in the world. Brake failures in cars happen all across the world everyday, often resulting in a serious accident. You can prevent brake failures by keeping your braking system in good shape. Replacing your pads and rotors as needed, and keeping enough brake fluid in your car. Parks are supposed to inspect rides daily and replace parts as needed, and usually they do this (hence why amusement parks are still popular after over 100 years), but for whatever reason some may skimp on maintenance and the chances of something like this happening increases drastically, just like if you have the original brakes on your 200,000 mile car.

How do you know relatives of the girl do not read the board?
How would you fell if somebody made wise cracks if one of your family members go seriously hurt?