|
Roller Coasters |
There have always been
roller coaster fatalities, but over the summer it seems that the
statistics have risen. There have been fatalities at theme parks ranging
from the master of fast rides, Six Flags Magic Mountain, to the family
theme park, Disneyland. But the accidents aren’t limited to only roller
coaster rides, they can even occur on the docile rides. In 2000, there
were about 10,580 emergency room injuries due to amusement park rides.
Accidents
have been occurring for a long time, but there have also been some
accidents that have gone unreported because of a technical reason. For
example, earlier this year, a six-year-old girl was playing with a toy
rifle at Disneyland when she slipped with her finger caught in the
trigger. She ended up losing her finger and was rushed to the hospital.
Disneyland did not have to report this incident because it was located in
a playground. They would have had to report it if it was on a mechanical
device that was permanent and also moved people around for the purpose of
amusement. But it wasn’t any of the above; therefore, the public was
uninformed of this incident.
Many
accidents have occurred at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry
Farm this summer. The people who died on Six Flags rides suffered from an
aneurysm in the brain. One of the first accidents of the summer occurred
in June. After the woman, Pearl Santos, rode Goliath, a roller coaster
that reaches speeds of up to 85 mph, she was found unconscious and later
died at the hospital. The ride was shut down, inspected, and then it was
reopened several hours later. The autopsy showed that the woman died of a
hypertension-related heart disease and also had a brain aneurysm which
ruptured. The autopsy report did conclude that the strain associated with
the ride probably was a factor to the ruptured aneurysm.
Another
woman died at Six Flags Marine World this summer. She was riding Monkey
Business, a spinning teacup style ride, when she suffered bleeding in the
brain. They found out that the ride did not malfunction, but the ride’s
movement had triggered the bleeding. The park’s spokesman does not
believe that this was a ride related accident and claims that an aneurysm
can occur anywhere from a park bench to a fast ride.
This
accident occurred once again when a woman died of a brain aneurysm at an
amusement park. After she rode Montezooma’s Revenge at Knott’s Berry
Farm, park officials found her slumped over the safety bar. They know that
it was a brain aneurysm, but they are also conducting tests to find out
what caused the aneurysm to erupt at that moment. Right now they are also
conducting more studies into brain related injuries on amusement park
rides.
There
are also many rides that occur because of mechanical reasons and the
staff. On Superman: Ride of Steel in New England, two trains collided
causing 20 people to be sent to the hospital with minor injuries. This
accident was due to a sensor malfunction that sent a car of passengers
into the back end of a non-moving car that was filled with passengers who
didn’t have their restraints on. A 17-year-old girl was paralyzed after
she suffered a broken neck and a spinal cord injury on a Raging Rivers
ride. Her float tube collided with a man, causing him to fall on top of
her which caused her broken neck and the spinal cord injury. She is now
suing Raging Rivers for negligence.
There are still accidents that occur because of negligence of the staff, but many of the people who die on fast rides die from an erupted brain aneurysm. Next time you go on a roller coaster make sure that you are buckled in securely. An aneurysm can happen to anybody, so be careful.