Girl's Feet Cut Off At Six Flags

$lick Rick

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so yeah.... i have never been to six flags, but i'll forever avoid the Superman Tower of Power

cnn.com said:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Police confirmed that a girl's feet have been cut off at Six Flags' Kentucky Kingdom.

Officials said they got the call around 5 p.m. Thursday and both her feet were detached at the ankle.

According to MetroSafe dispatch supervisors, the girl was riding the Superman Tower of Power, which is 177 feet tall and drops riders at 54 miles per hour. According to Kentucky Kingdom, the girl was injured when the ride malfunctioned.
http://www.wlky.com/news/13547817/detail.html


More Info

(CNN) -- A girl's feet were cut off Thursday when a free-fall thrill ride malfunctioned at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Amusement Park in Louisville, Kentucky, police said.

A cord wrapped around the 16-year-old's feet and severed them at her ankles while she was on the "Superman Tower of Power," a police dispatcher said. The girl was taken to a local hospital.

The incident took place shortly before 5 p.m. ET, according to Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg. The park remained open, but the ride in question was shut down and will remain so until the full investigation is complete, Goldberg said.

During the ride, passengers are lifted to 177 feet, suspended momentarily and then dropped, according to the park's Web site.

Passengers drop 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping "just 20 terrifying feet above the pavement," it adds.

"Feel the adrenalin rush of rapid ascent to the dizzying summit. That's when the Kryptonite kicks in and suddenly you're plummeting 177 harrowing feet to the pavement below," the description says.

The ride was introduced in 1995.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/21/six.flags.accident/index.html



a cord......



UPDATE #2

(CNN) -- A teen who lost her feet in an accident at a Kentucky amusement park has undergone surgery, a park spokeswoman said Friday, while two park operators closed similar rides around the country.

The Superman Tower of Power at Louisville's Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was shut down after Thursday's accident, and Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said Friday the company closed similar rides at parks in St. Louis, Missouri; Gurnee, Illinois; and near Washington, D.C., as a precaution, The Associated Press reported.

Another park operator, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., closed drop rides at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, Ontario; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.; Carowinds, in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America in Santa Clara, California, the AP reported.

"We're going to keep these things down until we're certain it's safe," Cedar Fair spokesman Craig Ross told the AP. "We'll wait and see."

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Carolyn McLean said she has been in touch with the injured 13-year-old girl's family and believed the girl is still receiving treatment at the University of Louisville Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Julie Gordon would not discuss details of the surgery or recovery, citing patient privacy.

The girl's name was not released because she is a minor.

The girl's feet were completely amputated just below the ankle Thursday afternoon while riding the Superman Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville.

Her feet were recovered by Six Flags staff and were sent to the hospital with her, McLean said.

During the Tower of Power ride, passengers are hoisted aloft, suspended momentarily, then pulled down, according to the park's Web site. Passengers -- secured with bars and seat belts but with arms and legs free -- drop 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping "just 20 terrifying feet above the pavement," the Web site says.

A police dispatcher said a cord wrapped around the girl's feet while she was on the ride.

"I seen the car go up. Then, like, the cable broke ... and I heard a lot of people screaming," Chris Stinnett, who was at a ride next to the Tower of Power, told CNN affiliate WDRB/WMYO-TV in Louisville.

"The cable went under the car -- and I seen it pull up and hit a lot of people -- and I seen them bring their legs up," he said. (Watch witnesses describe the accident Video)

"We are not confirming that happened," McLean said. "There was a lot of misinformation from witnesses."

The ride will remain closed until a full investigation by state officials and "our team of experts" is conducted, McLean said.

The inspectors will interview staff members, witnesses and speak with the girl and her family, she said.

"Every ride, every investigation is different," she said.

The rest of the park was operating as normal on Friday.
another update O_o

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- A 13-year-old girl whose feet were severed in an accident on an amusement park ride is in stable condition in a Nashville, Tennessee, 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 past 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.
 

Evan.

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holy s**t. One could only speculate what went wrong.
 


CivicKid95

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wow, that's really unfortunate, and how the hell did that happen?
 


Ltrain

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damnnnnnnn...i say 80 million pay day, but no amount of money is worth the feet
 

cgpEJ6

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damn, there goes her soccer career
 

Vicious

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damn here i never thought i'd like to look down and see 9 toes or something :lol: i'd rather lose a toe or two than that
 

$lick Rick

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the only thing that's been added so far is this

Dispatchers said she was taken to University Hospital.
so yeah... not much new news
 

rei

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ouch.. I've been to that Six Flags..
 

cujo613

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damnnnnnnn...i say 80 million pay day, but no amount of money is worth the feet


s**t with what they can do with prosthetics, I think that she will get it over it. Don't get me wrong I wish her the best. But they are going to pay her, and I bet she will be able to walk
 

CivicKid95

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I still wanna know how the f**k it happenned. also, they better pay her tons.
 

Civic11

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I know, I want to know how it happened to. I wonder, although that the ride malfunctioned, if it was something that could have been prevented. I mean, no offense, but I see people doing stupid stuff on rides and if they happen to do right at the moment of malfunction then bam.

For instance, holding your hands up on a roller coaster, Cool rush I bet, but what happens if the ride slams forward and/or malfunctions? You could be ejected from it.?!?

I don't know, I feel bad. I hope she can walk again and I hope that story in the news is wording far worse than it is. She probably has a scrape and the media is going wild detaching ankles and s**t:what:

Hopefully they can fix her up
 

$lick Rick

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new info in the first post
 

Civic11

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Oh it was a cord! that wrapped her feet. Well, honestly I wouldn't be scared to ride that ride after hearing this. I always get more nervous if stuff derails off a track or something like that. A cord could be attached so that won't happen again. The cord must have been real loose in order to do that. I feel bad because just hearing that it sounds really painful. I was a malfunctioning ride once (non-threatening). It was at then Six Flags Elitch Gardens on the Mind Eraser. We were inclining for the first drop and right when we got to the top the machines gears locked or something like that. We stood up there for 25-30 minutes before they were able to free us and start the ride. Let me tell you, that was the scariest ride of my life. I kept wondering if the strap holding me down would release. I didn't ride that ride for a few summers and I just last month ! The staff apologized and gave us a cool free card pass for unlimited snacks and stuff for that day so I was okay.

The worst I heard at our Elitches was on the Sidewinder. During the part where the coaster goes throw the loop the brakes locked and everyone was hanging upside down for like 10 minutes or so. I don't know if this was true or not, but that would suck the most. I would be extremely scared wondering if the thing holding me down would release sending me falling to the ground (50+ ft in the air) upside down. I heard girls were crying and everyone thought they were going to die. Scary stuff

Didn't someone make a video on Theme Parks going Bad or something like that. I could have sworn I watched a show about stuff like this a couple years ago.
 

cujo613

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I would think that she probably did not feel much pain at all. Shock can be a wonderful think sometimes. When I got my hand cut off I can not remember ever feeling any pain.

I hope that they could set her up with some pros. that could let her walk. Sad to see something like that happen to somebody soo young.

And get her paid
 

Civic11

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I would think that she probably did not feel much pain at all. Shock can be a wonderful think sometimes. When I got my hand cut off I can not remember ever feeling any pain.

I hope that they could set her up with some pros. that could let her walk. Sad to see something like that happen to somebody soo young.

And get her paid
I think your right. I know small to comparison, but I sliced my finger hard with a blade cutting badly (8 stitches were requied and blood gushing everywhere). I did not feel any pain after doing this.

I read an article somewhere about Animals in the Wild who are hunted and killed let say by a lion for example. Nature is kind enough to send their body into shock while you are being eaten alive so you don't torture.
 


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