Scottiedog,
Since you've a background in forensic pathology, what do you think about something like Long QT Syndrome? When I heard about the boy's death, that was the first thing that came to mind. I am not sure if they can determine that after death, but it would be interesting to see if anyone else in the family has it, since it's genetic. We had a young middle school girl die here from Long QT. People thought she was having seizures and she would eventually "come around". Then one day, she didn't "come around" and died. They discovered that she actually had a prolonged QT interval and when it was thought she was having seizures (absence seizures), her heart had actually stopped and then returned to normal rhythm within a short period of time. When she died, it failed to kick back into a normal sinus rhythm and she was dead by the time paramedics arrived.
My good friend has Long QT and has had several "episodes" when out and about with me. It's VERY scary, but luckily, she found out soon after the episodes started and had an internal defibrillator implanted.
I certainly don't blame the ride itself. If it does turn out to be something like Long QT, it could have happened anywhere. A mother lost her young son (3 or 4 years old) when she was goofing around with him at home. She came around the corner and yelled "boo". He dropped to the ground and was dead by the time paramedics arrived. It turned out he had Long QT and she had surprised him in between the beats of his heart, causing an interruption in the electrical impulse which then caused his heart to stop. After finding out that it was genetic, the remainder of the family was tested and it turned out several other members of the family had the same syndrome. It's a shame they don't do more testing (both genetic and metabolic) when babies are born. I believe there is only one state in the country that is so thorough (can't remember which one at this time). More babies could be saved if they would just do some simple tests.
As for the height requirement, as a person who is rather short (5'1"), I was unable to ride most thrill rides until I was a senior in high school or later. I was always left out when my friends and family would head over the roller coasters. To raise a height requirement would definitely leave out a lot of short adults (a buddy and nursing schoolmate of mine is 4'9"). I understand they have to have height requirements for the restraints. But as for the age and height of the child....well, parents know their children best. My two stepkids are VERY different and what my stepdaughter could have handled at age 4 is much different than what her brother could. She's much more gung-ho with no fear than he is and it's very noticeable when we go to amusement parks. She's "itching" to be tall enough to ride all the "big" roller coasters (which at age 5, she's finally made the 48" cut off). He's more content to sit by and watch....besides, he gets horrible motion sickness just from being in the car!
It's a shame that this had to happen to the poor young boy. I feel for his parents, who will probably always feel blame. They will be the ones to suffer through this for a very long time. I remember one of my patients passing away at the age of 16 from a very severe head trauma. His 19 year old sister was driving when the car rolled over. She had turned around on the shoulder to go back and get their dog that had jumped out of their jeep when she lost control. She was uninjured, except for a few cuts and scrapes. Her brother's head had at least 15 fractures in the skull and was completely unresponsive. He died about 8 hours after being transferred to the ICU. I will never forget her expression when we brought her in to say goodbye. It's hard to hear about anybody, especially a young person passing away, but it's the people left behind my heart goes out to. Especially when the people left behind were involved in some way or with the person when they died.
Melanie
When I exited my vehicle I saw the mother carrying her son out. His arms and legs were straight out. The CM's told her to bring him over to a bench and lay him down. I did not want to crowd them and left. I thought he had just fainted.
it. You can`t let this one incident affect your decision in riding it again....
