Jarrett said:
The only way I could see someone getting decapitated would be if they hit the frame for the netting too hard, which even at top speed (nevermind would be exerting positive force on the rider making them even less likely to fly up) I doubt could sever human flesh. Not to mention decapitation seems like a very likely made up GP rumor, taking a legitimate accident and clogging it up with unnecessary details that didn't happen.
I could believe something tragic happened but the idea of a small kid getting decapitated on a water slide sounds too Happy Tree Friends to be true.
This sounds like the accident that happened a couple of decades ago on one of those side-friction water chute rides - like Vikingar (it didn't happen at Blackpool, I must add).
The lift, 180-degree turn at the top and the descent had metal arches going over the track which were covered in lights. Looked great - but one of the arches on the slope down to the water came adrift and fell over as a boat was accelerating down the slope, resulting in decapitation.
I'd assume that the boats had some kind of lap restraint?
From
this report on the ride when it first opened, it seems that there is a fair amount of airtime on that hill.
Edit: Yep - the boats have seat-belt-style over-the-shoulder restraints. That means the boat would have been pulling the poor kid down against the force of the loop over the track. Awful.