SFKK: Girl Injured in Accident

[iChase]

Is SBNO "Standing But Not Operating" ???

Yup.

[coastergirl]

Here is an update on the little girl. I find it hard to believe that Six Flags has not followed up with the family yet.

CNN Update

[WooferBearATL]

Says right there the the reps went with her to the hospital and they were asked to leave.

[RiderOfRides]

I know I'm late; but I'll have the girl in my thoughts and I hope she'll make a full, fast recovery. Bless her and her family.

When I first heard about the accident, I was at Smokey Bones, waiting for my food. I was watching one of the TVs they had on CNN and I saw it. It just said 'Ride Accident' or something equally uninformative.

Then they finally had the bulletin pass by on the crawler, and I was in complete shock and horror. It does not make me fear drop rides, as I know it was a freak accident, but I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around it.

[coastergirl]

Says right there the the reps went with her to the hospital and they were asked to leave.

It also said:

"The family's statement said no one from the theme park had contacted them since the accident, as park representatives had told reporters.

"At no time has any representative of the theme park been in touch with members of the family," the statement said."

I'm just surprised that the park has not been in contact with them since the accident. You would think after an accident of this severity they would be calling daily to check on her and to see what they can do, not just accompany them to the hospital and then call it a day. I'm sure that the lawyers for both parties are all over this and maybe Six Flags was advised not to be in contact. I don't know..

[The Interpreter]

Update:

http://www.wlky.com/news/13616751/detail.html

[PKIVortex]

That's some good news.

[WooferBearATL]

Says right there the the reps went with her to the hospital and they were asked to leave.

It also said:

"The family's statement said no one from the theme park had contacted them since the accident, as park representatives had told reporters.

"At no time has any representative of the theme park been in touch with members of the family," the statement said."

I'm just surprised that the park has not been in contact with them since the accident. You would think after an accident of this severity they would be calling daily to check on her and to see what they can do, not just accompany them to the hospital and then call it a day. I'm sure that the lawyers for both parties are all over this and maybe Six Flags was advised not to be in contact. I don't know..

Once the initial contact is made it's best to have the professionals handle the rest of the matters. When I handle a claim, I can not think of one situation that I'd tell my insured "you should contact the plaintiff."

[tdsteele]

I had only got to ride it as Hellavator I think 1 time, because everytime I was at the park, it was constantly breaking down, and I dont think I ever saw all 5 cars being used, seemed to be at least one that was always just stuck at the top, so not the most reliable ride in the world.

And to bash Six Flags for not keeping up on their stuff, I find that funny, at least for this park, because i used to go there before Six Flags came around and the place was like a giant county fair. Vampire was a fun ride, but it was wore out junk that as always breaking down as well because they didn't take care of it. Look at its last months of service, vallied 3 times in what, a month? Had to have the fire department come rescue people off it that many times in that short a period, SF did the right thing by moving it to another park and starting over with it.

Anyways, what happened was a freak accident that noone could have foreseen and it is very unfortunate, but it's the chance we take with all rides, remember, they are just machines, and they do malfunction. Safety systems get better and better because of accidents like these in my opinion.

[cstrwomann]

I'm glad to hear they were able to attatch one foot. That's good news. I still don't think I will ride another Drop Tower again unless it's S&S. I'm afraid of them now.

[coastergirl]

Says right there the the reps went with her to the hospital and they were asked to leave.

It also said:

"The family's statement said no one from the theme park had contacted them since the accident, as park representatives had told reporters.

"At no time has any representative of the theme park been in touch with members of the family," the statement said."

I'm just surprised that the park has not been in contact with them since the accident. You would think after an accident of this severity they would be calling daily to check on her and to see what they can do, not just accompany them to the hospital and then call it a day. I'm sure that the lawyers for both parties are all over this and maybe Six Flags was advised not to be in contact. I don't know..

Once the initial contact is made it's best to have the professionals handle the rest of the matters. When I handle a claim, I can not think of one situation that I'd tell my insured "you should contact the plaintiff."

It's kind of a catch 22. If it was my child, I would like to have someone from the park show that they really care about my family, and not being in contact would really make me angry, but on the other side it could get them into more trouble legally if they do contact them.

I don't know.. it is such a horrible situation all the way around. I'm glad that she is doing better and they could reattach one foot.

[BoddaH1994]

Says right there the the reps went with her to the hospital and they were asked to leave.

It also said:

"The family's statement said no one from the theme park had contacted them since the accident, as park representatives had told reporters.

"At no time has any representative of the theme park been in touch with members of the family," the statement said."

I'm just surprised that the park has not been in contact with them since the accident. You would think after an accident of this severity they would be calling daily to check on her and to see what they can do, not just accompany them to the hospital and then call it a day. I'm sure that the lawyers for both parties are all over this and maybe Six Flags was advised not to be in contact. I don't know..

Once the initial contact is made it's best to have the professionals handle the rest of the matters. When I handle a claim, I can not think of one situation that I'd tell my insured "you should contact the plaintiff."

It's kind of a catch 22. If it was my child, I would like to have someone from the park show that they really care about my family, and not being in contact would really make me angry, but on the other side it could get them into more trouble legally if they do contact them.

I don't know.. it is such a horrible situation all the way around. I'm glad that she is doing better and they could reattach one foot.

You're entirely right. It's certainly a Cath 22. The park would seem insensitive if they did something minor like sent a card, but if they sent some sort of official to check in on her, the family would almost certainly have questions that they're not prepared to answer.

[PKIVortex]

Six Flags lawyers may have also told them not to be in contact with them right now as well. Who knows. But glad the girl is doing somewhat better, and they were able to save one of her feet.

[neo8820]

I too am very interested in knowing how this happened. Some of the videos on local news stations show people working around car three which faces the waterpark. The piece of blue hardware that attaches to the cable and lifts the car up can be seen clearly in the video for cars 2-4 at the top of the tower. The side of the tower with cars 1 and 5 cannot be seen.

If my memory serves me right there is only one cable attached to the blue piece of hardware. One would assume from these observations that the cable did not snap or atleast did not snap completely.

What are everyone thoughts?

Eye witnesses as well as pictures confirmed that a cable snapped in two.

Upstop, the rides brakes are magnetic and can only fail in the event of the Earth's magnetic poles switching. There are cables that bring the car up to the top of the tower, an most likely, the cable that snapped was on the same vehicle. Those cables are under intense tension and if it snapped, it is highly probable that the cable shot down underneath the car and unfortunately came in contact with the young girl. With regards to DZ at KI, if any of the cables did snap, the seats are far enough away to more than likely not come into contact with it. I don't remember if someone asked on this site if DZ's ride vehicle is further away because of this potential risk but that isn't the reason. It is like that to be able to hold more passengers. This is a true freak accident that was way beyond "worst case scenario". Even preparing for a cable snap during design cannot predict the violent behavior of something under such high tension. This is very tragic and the girl and her family, as well as the many witnesses including the ride operators, need our prayers.

The brakes on the Intamin Drop Tower at SFKK are not magnetic they are friction brakes. This Drop Tower was one of the first before they decided to move towards the more advanced magnetic braking system.

[neo8820]

yea i've been to the park multiple times.. even shadowed the pres. jay thomas for a day in april right before opening and he's actually working his butt off to get SF to bring that place back up. and he's doing a pretty good job himself (if you compare the park now to.. 2 or 3 years ago when he first started there). as far as maintenance goes though it's pretty hard to tell how much really goes on (even the "safest" parks have accidents sometimes. but an employee skipping out on an inspection wouldn't be that hard.. just a signature on a paper and they're pretty much good to go. can't trust everyone.. although i'm not saying their crew is bad.. or that they caused the accident. we just don't know

I definately agree that since the new CEO took over at SF the park is in better shape. There is a much better family atmosphere. I can't speak for other SF parks but this is the case at SFKK.

[neo8820]

I wonder why it is taking so long to reopen our Drop Zone. I'm glad that they are inspecting it to make sure that it is safe, but I hope that this doesn't mean that there is a problem with it.

I hate to make a post without a reference to backup my claim but I'm running late to work. I read somewhere on the internet last night that DZ was still closed because they were waiting for a part that out of an abundance of caution was being replaced.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

I read the same thing I believe on Kings Island Extreme but I may be wron

[WooferBearATL]

I wonder why it is taking so long to reopen our Drop Zone. I'm glad that they are inspecting it to make sure that it is safe, but I hope that this doesn't mean that there is a problem with it.

I hate to make a post without a reference to backup my claim but I'm running late to work. I read somewhere on the internet last night that DZ was still closed because they were waiting for a part that out of an abundance of caution was being replaced.

"An Abundance of Caution?"

[neo8820]

New information regarding the girl whose feet were amputated by SFKK Superman Tower of Power.

She was released from the hospital, her parents are sueing SFKK and 911 tapes are released.

One of the callers who placed a 911 call on that day was interviewed since he witnessed the accident. He claims the cable broke when the car was only 15 feet off the ground. Her feet weren't amputated until the ride dropped which is when the cable wrapped around her feet and pulled them off (ouch). My question is can the Intamin Giant Drop rides be e-stopped which would have prevented the car from dropping? If the cable really broke when the car was 15 feet off the ground there would have been aprox 20 seconds until the gondola reached the top of the tower and dropped. Plenty of time for an attentive ride op to e-stop. According to this witness it wasn't the cable breaking that caused the injury but her feet getting tangled in the cable on the way down.

http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/0...t.739d692d.html

[The Interpreter]

Questions raised about integrity of investigation into incident:

http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/0...n.7ff6c226.html

[The Interpreter]

State Seeking Independent Testing of Broken Cable:

http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/129074.html

[The Interpreter]

Broken cable on ride inspected:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/307200014

[BoddaH1994]

I don't need a watch. I have an Interpreter instead.

[flightoffear1996]

I don't see how you guys can say she is doing better she has still probaly lost most of the use in the one foot and the other foot is gone so chances are unless some amazing medical break through happens the young girl will never be able to walk again. You should be able to go to a park and not have to think about this trip could change my life.

[WooferBearATL]

Ahhh, there are people that walk without legs at all.

Infact, there is a man that runs marathons on artificial legs.

Don't Tell This Man He Can't Walk

[*KI_Karackter*]

I don't see how you guys can say she is doing better she has still probaly lost most of the use in the one foot and the other foot is gone so chances are unless some amazing medical break through happens the young girl will never be able to walk again. You should be able to go to a park and not have to think about this trip could change my life.

I think you're missing the point here, man. The important thing is that this poor girl is still alive. What's done is done, so we can't go back and change it. But she is doing much better in a technical sense. I mean, she started out with no feet, and thanks to modern medicine, she has at least one back.

[Guest faceoff]

I do not know much about medical science,but is it possible for the girl to recieve a artificial foot?

As much as i love amusement parks, i would certainly go back to the parks. I do hope for the girl's

complete recovery.

[WooferBearATL]

I do not know much about medical science,but is it possible for the girl to recieve a artificial foot?

As much as i love amusement parks, i would certainly go back to the parks. I do hope for the girl's

complete recovery.

How Far Science Has Come

[Monroe]

http://www.advancedbionics.com/

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http://www.advancedbionics.com/news/articl...p?ArticleID=130

I know that Medical Science and Movies both start with M WooferBearATL, but come on!!!!!!

[WooferBearATL]

http://www.advancedbionics.com/

http://www.touchbionics.com/

http://www.advancedbionics.com/news/articl...p?ArticleID=130

I know that Medical Science and Movies both start with M WooferBearATL, but come on!!!!!!

I like my link better! <G>