Girl's feet severed on ride at Six Flags in Kentucky
POSTED: 10:36 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007
(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.
"That could have been all of us -- riding that ride," Whitney Sandfer, who witnessed the accident, told CNN affiliate WDRB/WMYO.
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.
"I seen the car go up. Then, like, the cable broke, I heard -- pwchh -- and I heard a lot of people screaming," Chris Stinnett, who was at a ride next to the Superman Tower of Power, told WDRB/WMYO.
"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," Stinnett said.
Originally Posted by 65 to Bust:
This place just isn't the same since that Phil guy left. You guys are really slacking. Not one of you posted about what will happen if the operation does not succeed. When those medical freaks get done with her she'll be the queen of strapons.
Girl horribly injured on Six Flags ride in stable condition
POSTED: 8:12 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2007
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. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sam Hall:
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.
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Took the boys there on Sunday, looking at the thing was kind of eery after knowing what happened. [Reply]
Teen has one foot reattached after ride injury
Six Flags’ Tower of Power severed 13-year-old’s legs above the ankles
Updated: 1 hour, 47 minutes ago
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Doctors reattached the right foot of a 13-year-old girl involved in a gruesome amusement park accident, but her left foot was too severely damaged to repair, her family and doctor said in a statement Tuesday.
Kaitlyn Lasitter of Louisville remained in stable condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., Dr. Douglas Weikert, a surgeon and assistant professor at Vanderbilt, said in the statement.
"Things are progressing as expected over this first 10 days," he said.
Lasitter's feet were severed just above the ankles as she rode the Superman Tower of Power thrill ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom on June 21.
Investigators with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture said they have taken a cable they believe broke and severed Lasitter's feet, Wilbur Frye, executive director of the department's Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection, has said. The investigation will continue for several more weeks, Frye said.
Lasitter's mother, Monique Lasitter, thanked the doctors, nurses and hospital staff for their work.
"We would not want her to be at any other hospital during this difficult time," the statement said.
Similar rides shut down
The state has been trying to determine what caused the cable to break. Investigators were taking written statements from witnesses, reviewing statements and analyzing physical evidence and photographs of the scene, Frye said.
The ride was last inspected April 5 and found to be operating normally, Frye said. 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 had shut down similar rides for safety inspections at parks in St. Louis; Gurnee, Ill.; and near Washington as a safety precaution, said Wendy Goldberg, a spokeswoman for Six Flags. [Reply]
I still want to know how this could even happen. The cables on this ride are well above the riders head. If one was to break while under tension, I would think that it would just retract into the tower. [Reply]
