Here is a video of a 3 year old being thrown off of a carnival ride in Texas. She is ok thankfully. Apparently she was too small for the ride. Negligance on the ride operators part.

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/texas-carnival-ride-accident-caught-on-tape-28635708.html

This situation is kind of weird. A 48" height restriction for a carnival ride like that, and still, a three year old fell out? They should not change the height restriction, but add seat belts! This girl was a pretty tall toddler though...

Apparently, the girl met the 42" height requirement to ride accompanied. Now changed.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/315634/20120317/texas-carnival-ride-accident-girl-toss-houston.htm

More:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/video-shows-3-year-old-girl-tossed-carnival-ride-flying-8-feet-air-article-1.1040968

Irresponsible parent. Why would you wait in a line for a ride then get out of it?

Although I do think the ride operator should have noticed no parent with the child. It's a shame that a lot of accidents (if not all) are because of irresponsibility or being dumb.

Another article:

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/3-year-old-girl-injured-at-carnival-ride-at-rodeo-3407064.php

This, IMO, is a recipe for disaster:

"We're telling the ride operators to be sure the person who is over 48 inches is an adult," Shafer said.

No offense to ride ops because they have numerous things going on at once, but what are the qualifications to be considered an adult? This policy is, at best, vague, and leaves decisions that should be up to a responsible parent in someone else's hands.