Horrific Accident at 6 Flags Kentucky.

[Hannathy]

chobie, I think you're exactly right. I work at a newspaper and there are often stories where sources just won't talk to us or we can't get any new information, so rather than make something up or exaggerate things or rewrite the same information over and over, we just wait.

But it seems we can't win either way. If we wait because we don't have new information, we're burying or ignoring the story. If we rewrite, add speculative quotes from witnesses, etc, then we're sensationalizing and everyone is yelling at us to leave the poor family alone.

You know for the most part I agree with you BUT why doesn't this extend to Disney? Whenever there is an accident there or even a disagreement it is front and center on every channel and newspaper. So it should be for all or none, the press shouldn't get to pick and chose according to their agenda.

 

[lillygator]

You know for the most part I agree with you BUT why doesn't this extend to Disney? Whenever there is an accident there or even a disagreement it is front and center on every channel and newspaper. So it should be for all or none, the press shouldn't get to pick and chose according to their agenda.

ever read the threads about missing people and which ones the media hones in on? The media does get to choose I am afraid.

 

[wdwgirl03]

O M G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

oh i was hoping for an update..still sending our prayers out.

 

[sweetspicy]

Here's the latest from our local newspaper's Web site. They usually post updates as soon as they get them, if anyone wants to check back. The address is at the end.

Ride inspections over four years found no problems

State inspections over the past four years found no problems with a Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom ride where a cable severed a 13-year-old girl’s feet Thursday, according to inspection records.

But inspectors with the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection spent yesterday trying to determine what caused a cable on the Superman Tower of Power ride to break free and injure the girl while she was on the ride Thursday afternoon, said Bill Clary, a spokesman for the department.

“It looks like a cable caused the injury but we have no idea what caused the accident,” he said.

Park officials did not release any information on the girl’s name or her condition yesterday. On Thursday, Carolyn McLean a park spokeswoman for the amusement park, said the girl’s injuries involved her feet being severed above the ankles.

State officials say they don’t know what prompted the cable to break free, an inspection spokesman said.

Kentucky Kingdom shut down its Tower of Power ride after the unidentified girl was injured yesterday afternoon. The ride was manufactured by a Maryland company called Intamin Ltd.

Inspectors from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection have been evaluating the Tower of Power ride since the accident happened, said Bill Clary, spokesman for the department. The inspection could last until the end of today or longer, Clary said.

Rides similar to the one on which the girl was injured have been shut down at three other Six Flags amusement parks, according to a corporate spokeswoman.

The shutdown will allow those parks to inspect them and is standard procedure after an incident at any Six Flags park, said Wendy Goldberg, a company spokeswoman.

Inspectors from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection are at Kentucky Kingdom, trying to determine what caused the accident.

Carolyn McLean, a Six Flags spokeswoman, said state inspectors are working alongside the park’s team of experts to try to find a cause. She said no specific information was available this morning.

No information on the girl’s condition or her name has been released. McLean said the park is respecting the family’s privacy and not releasing any details.

McLean said there has not been a major incident on the Tower of Power ride, formerly known as the Hellavator, since it was built in 1995. Millions of people have safely ridden it in that time, she said.

The ride won’t reopen until the investigation is completed. But the park opened at 11 a.m. as usual, McLean said.

Check back for further updates at www.courier-journal.com and read more in Saturday’s Courier-Journal.

 

[Vivianne]

Here's an article from our local news website, slightly different from the article posted above:

http://www.nbc30.com/news/13557436/detail.html


Six Flags Shuts Down Three Thrill Rides
Teenage Girl Lost Both Feet In Accident Thursday

POSTED: 9:15 am EDT June 23, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Six Flags and Cedar Fair shut down eight more thrill rides around North America on Friday after a teenage girl's feet were sliced off during a ride in Kentucky.

State inspectors were at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom to examine the Superman Tower of Power, where the accident happened Thursday. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 mph.

A cable broke loose on the ride, striking the 13-year-old girl in the legs, said Bill Clary, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which inspects amusement park rides. Clary said inspectors don't know what caused the cable to break.

"We're going to go where the evidence takes us," he said.

It was unclear at what point in the ride the 13-year-old was injured, said Wendy Goldberg, a Six Flags spokeswoman. The girl was taken to a hospital, where her condition was not immediately available Friday.

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

There had been 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 ride passed inspection in each of the last four years according to inspection records, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported on its Web site.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. also shut down drop tower rides at five of its amusement parks for inspection, company spokeswoman Stacy Frole said. Frole described it as a precautionary measure.

Intamin AG, a Swiss company, made all the rides but did not supply all the parts, said Sandor Kernacs, president of the company's American operations, Intamin Ltd. in Glen Burnie, Md.

The accident didn't appear to slow business Friday at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. A stream of cars and foot traffic poured into the amusement park on a warm, breezy summer day.

The five Cedar Fair rides that were shut down are at Kings Island near Cincinnati; Canada's Wonderland, in Toronto; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.; Carowinds, in Charlotte, N.C.; and Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.

 

[chobie]

There is no way I would go to a park where an accident like that had just taken place. I would not be able to put my kids on any ride there without thinking about what happened the day before. I know there is no guarantee of safety any where, but still...

 

[Danauk]

As horrible as it is, I have to say it is a freak accident and once the ride opens again I would ride it (well actually I wouldn't as I hate drop towers, but non the less.) I love rollercoasters and ride them a lot. I figure I have more chance of being run over crossing the street as I do having an accident at a theme park. I know a person died on BTMRR at DL. Has anyone here rode that? I know I will be when I visit there next year. Last year at my favourite UK theme park where DH and I have an AP there was a crash on one of the runaway mine coasters. Will I ride that again? Yes, I already have. Does anyone know people who have been killed in a car crash? I went to funeral last month for 2 13 years olds I knew who were killed in a car crash. Does that stop me riding in a car? No. I guess my point is that although tragic accidents happen many, many more people do those things safely each year. I know these type of things will not stop me.
I hope the girl is able to recover from this, her self and her family are in my prayers.

 

[damo]

Can you believe this isn't being made a big deal of! Please keep us updated Kentucky people. Too bad Tigger didn't grab her we might be hearing something.

It is on all of our news channels and radio stations up here in Canada.

Your chance of getting seriously injured at an amusement park is 1 in 25,000,000. When it happens, it is big news.

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

What a horrifying accident! I feel so bad for that poor girl. It must be like a nightmare for her and her family.

 

[SallyfromDE]

There is no way I would go to a park where an accident like that had just taken place. I would not be able to put my kids on any ride there without thinking about what happened the day before. I know there is no guarantee of safety any where, but still...

That's why I don't go to GA in New Jersey. Well, I do go, only if they have a show I want to see. But I don't get on the rides. I know they've changed hands a few times, but they've had too many deaths from accidents there. Years and years ago, there was a fire in a Haunted House, I don't remember how many people died, it was several. A few years later, I did go with friends, I went to get on a ride, it was loop. Well, while we were going up the steps, you could feel the whole thing sway back and forth. I refused to get on it. My friends made fun of me. A week later, a girl fell out of the ride, and the car ran over her and killed her. They didn't lock the seat.

Disney, none of us will get on MS. BTMRR- I won't get on the first car. GA just has bad history.

 

[sasha]

How awful! This makes me so sad.

 

[Cass]

It's really hitting home for me because I have a DD13, the same age as the girl hurt and she LOVES rides, we are going to Universal next month for 5 days, they have a ride like this one there that we go on. I can just imagine the horror this poor girl went through, and everyone who witnessed it. Thank God she is alive and being looked after.

 

[Ciera08]

My thoughts and prayers are with the girl and her family. It freaked me out because i rode that ride monday and tuesday before the accident at the kentucky 6 flags with my mom. What is even worse is I was sitting on the same side the girl was sitting on when the accident happend. I dont think i will ever ride another thrill ride in my life

 

[Blondiex46]

so anybody heard anything about the reattachment or how the child is. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. How sad.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

How sad. I hope we hear an update.

 

[beachblanket]

Trust me, in terms of scale the litigation that comes out of this is going to be historic. Six Flags currently has their media muffling machine on running at 100%, but once the lawsuits employing Harvard-trained pit-bull attorneys start (against Six Flags, The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Intamin, the Swiss designer and manufacturer of the ride in discussion, the company that takes out the trash for Intamin, etc.) you'll be hearing about this story again ad nausuem.

 

[ckay87]

That's why I don't go to GA in New Jersey. Well, I do go, only if they have a show I want to see. But I don't get on the rides. I know they've changed hands a few times, but they've had too many deaths from accidents there. Years and years ago, there was a fire in a Haunted House, I don't remember how many people died, it was several. A few years later, I did go with friends, I went to get on a ride, it was loop. Well, while we were going up the steps, you could feel the whole thing sway back and forth. I refused to get on it. My friends made fun of me. A week later, a girl fell out of the ride, and the car ran over her and killed her. They didn't lock the seat.

Disney, none of us will get on MS. BTMRR- I won't get on the first car. GA just has bad history.

2 thoughts regarding your post and this whole accident

1 - GA in New Jersey is a dump!

2 - Everytime I hear about an amusement park accident, it seems to be Six Flags. What is their safety record like? I know they have a bunch of parks, so that is likely the reason, but still.

 

[lsyorke]

2 thoughts regarding your post and this whole accident

1 - GA in New Jersey is a dump!

2 - Everytime I hear about an amusement park accident, it seems to be Six Flags. What is their safety record like? I know they have a bunch of parks, so that is likely the reason, but still.

GA is under new ownership. A very different place from a few years ago. As for safety records...the "inflatable" attractions appear to be the worst for injuries.

http://www.rideaccidents.com/

 

[damo]

2 thoughts regarding your post and this whole accident

1 - GA in New Jersey is a dump!

2 - Everytime I hear about an amusement park accident, it seems to be Six Flags. What is their safety record like? I know they have a bunch of parks, so that is likely the reason, but still.

Most accidents I hear seem to be at carnivals. Also, many accidents are caused by rider negligence.

The accident rate is still extremely low compared to other recreational activities like boating and swimming.

Here is an excellent site showing accidents http://www.themeparkinsider.com/accidents/list.cfm at actual parks and not carnivals.