The Worst Accidents to Ever Happen at Theme Parks Might Make You Reconsider Your Vacation
When parents take their family to a theme park, they assume that nothing can go wrong there. Why would anyone think you wouldn’t be safe when these places are branded as the happiest places on Earth?
But sometimes tragedy can strike at even the coolest theme parks, no matter how many staff members are present or how often rides were inspected.
As a result, some of these amusement park accidents have left people severely injured while other park goers have lost their lives on what was supposed to be a fun-filled family day.
Sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry when deciding if you should get on a roller coaster that seems scary in all the wrong ways.
Silver Dollar City Rollercoaster, 1980
No one had died at Silver Dollar City in Missouri since the theme park first opened in 1960. But all that changed on July 9, 1980 when 23-year-old James Frederick Polley was riding on the Fire in the Hole rollercoaster.
The workers were unaware that Polley and other passengers were aboard the train, so they switched the ride from the main tracks to a maintenance track that had a low hanging door. When the workers realized their mistake, they screamed to the riders to duck down.
But Polley didn’t react in time and hit his head on the hanging door. Sadly, he did not survive his injuries.
Treetop Twister at Lightwater Valley, 2001
In June of 2001, a 20-year-old named Gemma Savage lost her life after two carriages on the Treetop Twist at Lightwater Valley Theme Park crashed into each other. Unfortunately, her head and spinal injuries were too severe.
Savage was from Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, and had come to the amusement park to spend some time with her friends from Durham University. She just never imagined that her outing that day would be her last day on Earth.
Superman: Tower of Power, 2007
A 16-year-old girl’s feet were severed when a cord snapped and wrapped around her ankles while she rode the Superman: Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Amusement Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
The ride drops 154 feet at 54 mph, but was considered relatively safe until this happened in 2007. Once eyewitness said: “The people on the ride just came and hit the ground. When I got up there, the lady was sitting there, and she didn’t have any legs.
She was just there, calm, probably in shock from everything.”
Rollo Coaster, 2016
An accident occurred on the Rollo Coaster ride at the Idlewild and SoakZone amusement park in Pennsylvania. The ride was built way back in 1938 and didn’t have seat belts. So, riders were secured by a lap bar.
Unfortunately, a 3-year-old boy who was riding the roller coaster with his older brother was ejected during the ride’s last turn. The boy then fell about 12 feet and landed on the tracks. Rescue teams airlifted the boy to the hospital where doctors treated his injuries.