A seven-year-old boy fell from a rollercoaster at Lightwater Valley Theme Park in the UK and suffered head injuries. The boy was in critical condition, but his condition is expected to improve.
Chief executive of Lightwater Valley theme park, Ian Cunningham, issued a statement offering apologies over the boy’s fall.
“Everyone at Lightwater Valley theme park is very pleased to hear that the condition of the young boy who fell from our Twister ride last Thursday is improving,” Cunningham said in a public statement.
“As a father myself, I can imagine only too well how it must have felt for everyone involved when the incident happened, and in the hours since. Our thoughts and concerns are completely focused on the child and his family at this difficult time.
“I would like to say how sorry I am personally for the upset and anxiety that this incident has caused. We are committed to offering our full support to the family.”
Witnesses reported seeing the boy hanging backwards outside of a carriage on the Twister ride before he fell to the ground. Onlookers shouted and screamed as the ride continued to operate for several seconds after the body fell. It is believed that the boy’s mother was still strapped into the ride when others were rushing to the boy’s aid.
The Health and Safety Executive has launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred when the park was busy during half-term.
Lightwater Valley’s statement confirmed that the ride remains closed, although the rest of the park is open. The Twister is marketed as one of the park’s “ultimate adventure” rides which takes “seriously tight turns.”
In 2015, a ride attendant was set up 40ft into the air on one of the Twister’s carriages after a colleague started the ride during a routine check. The ride attendant said she was completely traumatized by the incident and quit.
The incident highlights the dangers of theme park rides, which are popular with children and teens in the summer months.
Ride injuries aren’t the only concern at theme parks. Teens, children and even adults may also wander into areas where they shouldn’t be and get injured or even killed in the process. Take the case of Stefan Quinton Jones-Green, for example, who was trespassing through an unauthorized area near the High Roller Observation Wheel in Las Vegas. The 23-year-old fell 50 feet down a flight of stairs and was killed.
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