A_Titanic_Mess Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Girl Injured on Teacup Ride DANIA BEACH, Fla. - A 13-year-old girl was hospitalized after hitting her head while on a spinning teacup ride at an amusement park. Natashia West was injured Thursday on the Magic Teacup ride at Boomers, just south of Fort Lauderdale. She remained sedated in intensive care Monday with head injuries. “All I want is for her to be the same little girl she was,” said Donnie Jackson, her father. The ride carries passengers inside round cups. At the center of each cup is a wheel riders can turn to control how fast it spins. It was not clear how Natashia hit her head or what part of the ride she hit it on. State officials inspected the ride Friday and found no mechanical problems, agency spokesman Terence McElroy said. The department has not concluded its investigation but expects to release a report later this week. The ride was cleared by the department to open but remained closed Monday, McElroy said. A routine inspection by the department in April also found the ride to have no mechanical problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWildman424 Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I hit my head on a tea cup ride one time...but not bad enough to go to the hospital and stay in intensive care. Thats too bad. I wonder how it happened, that cup had to be movin fast!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Update: Please be aware, there is a graphic picture when you click the link: http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/182494.html DANIA BEACH State report clears teacup ride teen was injured on A state report doesn't find fault with a Magic Teacup amusement ride that sent a Tamarac teenager to an intensive care unit. BY NATALIE P. McNEAL nmcneal@MiamiHerald.com Natashia West was injured June 28 on a ride at Boomers at Dania Beach.A state inspector has concluded that a teenager who was seriously injured on a Dania Beach amusement park ride wasn't following the rules. The report indicates that 13-year-old Natashia West must have been trying to stand up on the Magic Teacup ride when she suffered the bloody head injury that sent her to a hospital intensive care unit. ''The most likely cause of this accident was patron failing to follow ride instructions to remain seated,'' states the report by Robert H. Jacobs, chief of the Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection. On June 28, Natashia rode in the Magic Teacup ride with her twin sister and another friend at Boomers in Dania Beach. The ride carries passengers in big, swirling round cups. At the center of each is a wheel that riders can turn to control how fast the cup spins. The cups circle a large teapot. During the ride, Natashia somehow leaned backward far enough that her head hit the ''spout'' of the stationary teapot in the center of the ride. The report indicates that the ride operator heard the impact and started slowing the ride, but before it stopped, Natashia's head hit the handle of the teacup next to hers. She spent eight days in the hospital, and went home on her 14th birthday, but family members say she hasn't been the same. Vision is blurred in her right eye and she sometimes sluts her words; she's often sleepy and feels congested at night, said her father, Donnie Jackson. Natashia is seeing a pediatric neurologist and is in rehab. It's uncertain if she will start high school this fall. The inspection found no mecahical flaws on the ride. A posted sign clearly warns riders to remain seated. The operator was trained properly and the ride had a daily inspection. The ride remains shuttered while Boomers. owners meet with the manufacturer, but it has been cleared by the state to reopen. ''If the instructions were not being followed by the patron, unfortunately, serious accidents may occur,'' said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the Bureau of Fair Rides and Inspection. But Natashia's father doesn't agree. ''Those rides should be set up for the worst-case scenario,'' Jackson said. ``There should be no way that if a child leans back too far, it takes her head off.'' As terrible as the result of this incident is, the fathers's comments are shocking. So let me get this strait; if you have a sunroof in your car, and your kid is standing up through it, and your kid is injured, it's the car manufacturer's fault for not thinking about a worst- case scenario? I am really sorry your daughter was injured, but she is old enough (entering high school) to know not to stand on a ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Mr. Shapiro mentioned this today during the Six Flags conference call, along with the incidents at Rye Playland, the Christian festival bungee jump incident, the Great America drowning at Cedar Fair and of course the Kentucky Kingdom incident. It has been a summer of incidents, that is for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Vision is blurred in her right eye and she sometimes sluts her words; Oh dear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 It's a shame people don't believe in the statement "Failure to follow posted safety instructions can result in severe injuries". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 While I feel for the child. this seems like one of those lack of common sense accidents. Wonder if the girl would stand in a bathtub using a hairdryer too? Amusement Ride + Standing/Disobeying Signs = Possible injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB_TOM Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I dont see it the same way that everyone else is. Last time I checked, not following rules seems to be a learned behavor. So where could she have learned not to follow the rules? I can think of one place, the home. SO, since her parents, at the time of incident, were not with her, where could they have been? Maybe at the bar? At home? Not caring where she was maybe? Thus why money is not the root of all evil, but bad parenting is. See how things can easily be turned around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 ^ I'm not disagreeing with you. But when should a young adult be held accountable for their actions? This girl was on the verge of being in high school. By now, you would hope she has learned the difference between right and wrong. Obviously her twin sister knew the difference. I have, unfortunately, seen great parents try and steer their kids in the right direction, only to have their kids still do what they want to do. At this point in her life, you would hope she can at least read signs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmy Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 ''If the instructions were not being followed by the patron, unfortunately, serious accidents may occur,'' said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the Bureau of Fair Rides and Inspection. But Natashia's father doesn't agree. ''Those rides should be set up for the worst-case scenario,'' Jackson said. ``There should be no way that if a child leans back too far, it takes her head off.''[/b] If there is a child that has a problem following common sense instructions like...stay seated on a relatively fast moving ride, then they have absolutely no business being on a ride anyway...especially without an adult. SOB TOM is right...the ability to follow rules is a learned behavior that is ultimately learned at home. Maybe if her father instilled some common sense in his daughter then he wouldn't have to worry about worst case scenerios on a ride like his kid's head being taken off because she can't follow directions. Maybe I'm just insensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I totally agree, but must point out that the maxim is THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil. Not money itself, but the love of it. AKA greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Update: http://www.miamiherald.com/466/story/195905.html The operator of Natashia's ride was 16, and had worked on the Magic Teacups for less than three months. Robert Niles, editor of themeparkinsider.com and a former amusement park operator, says that's a problem. ''The lack of experience shows up in the lack of ability to prevent these types of incidents,'' Niles said. I am not really sure on how to take this incident, or the quote from Niles. If it is a design problem, why does it matter how old the operator is or how long they have been working on the ride? Until it is re-engineered, the accidents will continue. But is it a design problem? According to this picture (scroll down one pic) http://www.disneyworldlive.com/madteaparty.htm it appears to me that you would really have to lean back, practically out of the car, to hit the handle of another tea cup. Also, wouldn't the handles of two cars crash into each other while they were spinning if they were that close? As insensitive as it may sound, IMO this girl was not following directions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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