Girl defeeted by Six Flags ride

[Raph's Girl]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-22-ride-accident_N.htm?csp=34

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.

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.

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.

Bill Clary, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which inspects amusement park rides, said a cause hadn't been determined Friday afternoon.

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; and Great America in Santa Clara, Calif.

Raph's Girl note: Yeowch!! :o

[Janus Prospero]

Yeah, I was reading about this at work today. I hope they can save her feet.

BTW, that is the single most twisted head line for this story imaginable. Congrats. :D

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

Goodness. I've always hated that ride....

[Scandia]

I'm still in shock about this. Scary to say the least. I cannot even begin to imagine if it happened to me. Poor girl. I hope her legs can be repaired.

[Revan]

I just heard about this today! Way to be on top Raph's Girl. Sharp as always.

It's weird that they don't know how her feet were severed. That is offputting.

[Scandia]

It must have possessed a lot of tension and force in order to cut through so much bone. Plus I wonder if she would have bled significantly without immediate medical attention.

[Revan]

^ Yes but what part of the ride actually did the "cutting" through her bone. That is what boggles me because I have ridden a very similar ride and I just don't see it.

[Buslady]

that is weird. could she have gotten her feet stuck between the ride's track structure and the car she was in?
that ride's nasty as it is...bleah...im surprised Magic Mountain hasn't shut theirs down

[Katie]

A cable snapped and slapped accross her feet.

Kentucky Kingdom isn't too far up the road from me....So anyway, one of the big high tension cables on the ride frayed and broke and that's what did it. cut both her feet off right below the ankles and the park workers found her feet below the ride and sent them to the hospital with her. (The 'they may never know what caused it' part refers to the fact that they don't know why the cable broke....but the cable clearly snapped and clearly slapped back accross those people in all the footage I have seen)

Don't think a cable could sever someone's feet? I had my dog tied to a tree with one of those coated wire cables (tough enough to hold back a 150 lb dog it said) and she saw a cat and decided to chase it. I was in the way of the cable and just the force of my measly 39lb dog charging full speed at that cat was enough to break my ankle. that was a few years ago and I still have a cable shaped scar on the outside of my right ankle.

imagine cables as thick around as your arm breaking loose with full tension. She's lucky it wasn't her head.

[RaphistheBest]

A cable snapped and slapped accross her feet.

Kentucky Kingdom isn't too far up the road from me....So anyway, one of the big high tension cables on the ride frayed and broke and that's what did it. cut both her feet off right below the ankles and the park workers found her feet below the ride and sent them to the hospital with her. (The 'they may never know what caused it' part refers to the fact that they don't know why the cable broke....but the cable clearly snapped and clearly slapped back accross those people in all the footage I have seen)

Where is the footage for this!??! That's crazy insane! I wanna see the footage! I mean... that's just... I don't know but I wanna watch the video of this! Man, I'm Morbid.

Don't think a cable could sever someone's feet? I had my dog tied to a tree with one of those coated wire cables (tough enough to hold back a 150 lb dog it said) and she saw a cat and decided to chase it. I was in the way of the cable and just the force of my measly 39lb dog charging full speed at that cat was enough to break my ankle. that was a few years ago and I still have a cable shaped scar on the outside of my right ankle.

imagine cables as thick around as your arm breaking loose with full tension. She's lucky it wasn't her head.

Yea, I've seen damage from cables before. And it can be down right gruesome. This story is still insane!

[Raph's Girl]

[QUOTE=RaphistheBest;530068]Where is the footage for this!??! That's crazy insane! I wanna see the footage! I mean... that's just... I don't know but I wanna watch the video of this! Man, I'm Morbid.

YouTube has a news report video of the ride and the wire that cut her feet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz1QSIosHb4

[Ava Collier]

...this is why I don't ride those things.
Also...I thought you'd spelled "defeated" wrong at first Ahem.

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.

Oh that explains it. Glen Burnie. You should know, something in the air around here makes gore happen. We're like the body parts getting cut off even when you're not stealing capitol of the world! I'm not gonna go into detail...

[gobo]

That's a disgustingly insensitive headline.

[Ecto Jedi]

That's a disgustingly insensitive headline.

I hope she doesn't read the Technodrome.

[RaphistheBest]

YouTube has a news report video of the ride and the wire that cut her feet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz1QSIosHb4

Hey thanks. I didn't think something like this would hit youtube so fast. It's insane, I mean you can see the cable even without the video zoomed in. Crazy wicked. On a side note... there was a really hot guy walking around in a black tank on that video. *wink wink*

That's a disgustingly insensitive headline.

Life is disgustingly insensitive.

I hope she doesn't read the Technodrome.


Well now... wouldn't that suck all to hell.

[Spike Spiegel]

Wow. That sucks:cry: :cry: :o , I wonder if her family will sue the park or not??? I sure would.

[RaphistheBest]

Not sure if they will. Those rides are checked constantly. At least, they're supposed to. I'm not an engineer but I don't know how obvious a bad cable would look. Then again the parts didn't come from the company that made the ride... maybe the family will sue the parts company.

[Revan]

Is there some kind of warning or ride at your own risk so they can cover there arse?

[RaphistheBest]

Well they always say "keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times" but I don't quite think that that is possible with a ride like that. I'm sure that there are warnings somewhere on the ride, I mean, isn't that a law or something.

[Revan]

Well they always say "keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times" but I don't quite think that that is possible with a ride like that. I'm sure that there are warnings somewhere on the ride, I mean, isn't that a law or something.
I feel bad for both parties because this was truely and accident. No one wins in this situation. If the family sues, their daughter is still hurting. If the park counter sues, their reputation is still severely damaged.

It is a tough call though on whether there is someone at fault. I hope it works out as well as it possibly can for both parties.

[RaphistheBest]

I feel bad for both parties because this was truely and accident. No one wins in this situation. If the family sues, their daughter is still hurting. If the park counter sues, their reputation is still severely damaged.

It is a tough call though on whether there is someone at fault. I hope it works out as well as it possibly can for both parties.

Yea, somethings are just accidents and no one is at fault. It doesn't happen that way as much as most people would like but yea it's horrible either way this ends up.

[Jo Dawn]

Is there some kind of warning or ride at your own risk so they can cover there arse?

I believe there is a 'ride at your own risk' type thing... Most likely in small print on your ticket, and if not there, then somewhere in the park. If they didn't have one, people would be suing for windburn or something stupid like that. Sad, but true.

And I also wish for it to turn out the best it can.

[Roseangelo]

From what I recall reading, the Park has been very good to the girl and her family so far. I believe they've already offered to pay all of the medical expenses. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's further compensation. There may not be a need for anyone to sue.

[Spike Spiegel]

From what I recall reading, the Park has been very good to the girl and her family so far. I believe they've already offered to pay all of the medical expenses. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's further compensation. There may not be a need for anyone to sue.

That's...great. I hope they can reattach her feet!

[RaphistheBest]

Yea. I wonder when they'll ever release whether or not they could save her feet.

[Wingnut]

I wonder when they'll ever release whether or not they could save her feet.
I know, that's what I am curious about.

[ThirdMarioBro]

I honestly don't see how it is possible to reattach someone's feet. Legs I've seen, knees I've seen, but feet? I don't know.

To still have you legs, but nothing to use them with....horrible. :(

[RaphistheBest]

The amount of surgery she'll have to go through will be insane. They'll have to use screws and such on the bone, reattach muscle, and then the hardest part will be stitching back together vessles and nerves and such... tough, but it can be done.

I watched this one thing one TV like last year where this guy had his foot almost completely snapped off while street luge..uhh..ing and it was able to be reattached without him having any kind of problems after recovery. And when I say almost completely I mean there was about a one inch piece of skin that kept his foot attached to his leg.

[KROW]

I honestly don't see how it is possible to reattach someone's feet. Legs I've seen, knees I've seen, but feet? I don't know.

To still have you legs, but nothing to use them with....horrible. :(
Well, I saw on the news about this fisherman who cut off his fingertips. It was reported that he was rushed to a hospital by his son where they were reattached successfully. So, I guess feet can be, as well. There might have to be steel bolts or rods implanted to replace the joints, though.

[bullet]

just got back from six flags today. my family's inclined to believe that stuff like this happens all the time. typical. hah it's much more likely for me to die in a car crash or get struck down by lightning than ever going through something like this.

i typically go on every ride, too...some more than once...and other than the fact that immature pricks kept making reference to the feet-cutting incident the whole day through, on almost every ride i went on...it was awesome.

interesting note: my sister had her thumb sliced off once before and it was also successfully reattached. you can't even tell her thumb was ever operated on, either. at least i can't.

[JetsAndHeels]

Here is an update on her, courtesy of the Superman homepage and the AP:

The Associated Press reports that the 13-year-old girl whose feet were severed in an accident on an amusement park ride is in stable condition in a Nashville, Tenn., hospital, her family said in a written statement Tuesday.

Kaitlyn Lasitter, whose name had not previously been released by officials, was riding the Superman Tower of Power ride Thursday at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville when a cable broke loose on the ride, cutting off the girl's feet above the ankles, authorities said.

State officials were investigating the incident.

"The parents of Kaitlyn Lasitter would like to acknowledge everyone across the country that have been supporting their daughter with many positive thoughts and prayers over the last six days," according to the statement, which was issued through Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Authorities and the hospital have declined to say whether her feet were reattached. The statement included a plea for privacy for the girl's family, and the family has instructed the hospital not to comment further.

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.

A spokeswoman for Six Flags in New York disputed that account, saying two representatives from Kentucky Kingdom accompanied Lasitter's family to the hospital and stayed for "some time" before the family asked that they leave.

"We are deeply saddened by this incident and of course have genuine concern for the well-being of the entire family. We stand ready to be of any assistance we possibly can," said Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Carolyn McClean.

The ride passed inspection in each of the last four years, according to records. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 miles per hour.

Six Flags shut down similar rides at parks in St. Louis; Gurnee, Illinois; and near Washington as a safety precaution, Goldberg said. Those rides remained closed Tuesday, and were to undergo safety inspections.

Six Flags Over Texas, near Dallas, also has a Superman Tower of Power, but it is not the same ride, Goldberg said.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. of Sandusky, Ohio, also shut down drop tower rides at five of its amusement parks for inspection after the accident.

[RaphistheBest]

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.

A spokeswoman for Six Flags in New York disputed that account, saying two representatives from Kentucky Kingdom accompanied Lasitter's family to the hospital and stayed for "some time" before the family asked that they leave.

Interesting. I wonder if the family is going to sue and want it to look like the park representatives didn't care. I also wonder if the park representatives are trying to cover their asses after screwing up. Very interesting.

[JetsAndHeels]

I wonder if the family is going to sue and want it to look like the park representatives didn't care. I also wonder if the park representatives are trying to cover their asses after screwing up.

Same here...looks like this is turning out to be one of those "he said, she said...he/she didn't say" type things. I just feel bad for that girl. :(

[RaphistheBest]

Yea. And even though the family is glad for all the support I get the feeling that they haven't said anything about her feet being reattached just so everyone will think that maybe it won't happen. Maybe they're doing that to make the park reps think that they should help with the bills. Even if that isn't the case you're right about this whole thing probably ending up as some people pointing fingers at each other. Quite sad.

[JetsAndHeels]

Not to make light of the situation, but if I were at that park right now I wouldn't hesitate to ride it. :)

[RaphistheBest]

Honestly, neither would I. I've always wanted to ride on something like that but I've never got the chance. The last time I was anywhere close to riding something like that it was shut down because the people ahead of us ended up being stuck at the top for like an hour.

[Katie]

I'm not sure how exactly this one worked, but there's one at a museum in the town I grew up in...it is raised by filling up these huge tubes with water and air. It makes the creepiest gurgling noise while you are waiting to go up.

[Drtooth]

And that is why I NEVER go on any rides!