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12 year old girl severely injured on Wisconsin Dells Ride

RCF

Strata Poster
I read this and was like, holy ****.

Portage Daily Register said:
WISCONSIN DELLS - A 12-year-old girl was "severely injured" on a Wisconsin Dells amusement park ride called Terminal Velocity when she fell to the ground from at least 40 feet and a net failed to break her fall, Lake Delton police said in a statement Friday.

The girl, who is not from Wisconsin, was taken by helicopter to UW Hospital.

Terminal Velocity, a free fall thrill ride, is a featured attraction at Extreme World. Owner Bill Anderson said he had "no idea" of the extent of the girl's injuries. UW Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette confirmed MedFlight had returned to Madison by 1:30 p.m. with one injured patient but she didn't provide further details. Lake Delton police also did not provide injury details.

Judy Norys, from Woodstock, Ill., was at the scene and heard people screaming. A first responder, Norys began doing CPR on the girl.

"There was a little girl on the ground," Norys told reporters. "She wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. There was blood coming out of her nose, eyes and mouth."

The ride, inspected about one month ago by state regulators, and the amusement park are now closed.

An employee of the business read from a statement: "There are no words. We will do whatever police ask of us as they investigate. We are praying for the girl and her family."

According to Extreme World's website, the Terminal Velocity platform is 140 feet off the ground and a diver drops 100 feet at speeds up to 52 miles per hour into a double net above the ground. Lake Delton police said in a statement that the girl was released for her free fall but that the net "was not high enough above the ground to completely break the fall and she did hit the ground."

The statement said she fell "at least 40 feet to the ground."

The minimum age for the ride is 14, but children ages 10 to 14 can dive if a parent or legal guardian is present.

The website describes the thrill ride, which was introduced in 2002, this way:

"Terminal Velocity is a new and unique thrill ride. It is the only ride in the world that allows you unattached, controlled free fall. The ride begins with an ascent to the top in a special elevator. Once at the top, a staff member activates the descend system and releases you after a short countdown. The free fall is completely without attachments. Airtubes and break suspensions around the double net stop your fall so softly that you feel virtually no impact at all. Upon landing, the entire device is lowered a short distance to the ground."

A Sauk County dispatcher said a call on the incident came in at 11:53 a.m. MedFlight was dispatched at about noon.

The Lake Delton Police Department, the Sauk County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Commerce are investigating the incident.

Commerce spokesman Tony Hozeny said the ride was last inspected on June 28 and has been inspected every year since at least 2004. There have been no violations or accidents in that time, Hozeny said.

"We want to express our sympathy for this person who was injured," Hozeny said. "We've directed the ride be shut down until further notice."

http://www.wiscnews.com/portagedailyregister/news/article_87e19bb2-9c0c-11df-92f3-001cc4c002e0.html
 

ciallkennett

Strata Poster
Having just watched a video of the attraction, it would seem that the girl was released by the park employee before the net was lifted, in position and at a safe distance from the ground sufficient enough to break her fall. That is what I can only assume, obviously, not enough detail to determine that (nor was I there to witness it).

Thoughts with family, speedy recovery etc etc.
 

Nic

Strata Poster
ciallkennett said:
Thoughts with family, speedy recovery etc etc.
Ditto. I'd be shocked if she survives given the description of her injuries.

I know a load of you went on one of these on the euro live last year. Am I right in thinking that the net (which is actually the "SCAD" bit) is somehow attached to the lift bit, so its winched into place automatically? Therefore, surely the only way it could be too low would be for the whole lift to not have gone right to the top?

Or have I misunderstood the whole thnig and got that completely wrong?

PS. Manufacturer's website if anyone's interested... http://www.montic.de/montic%20site/site ... /home.html
 

RCF

Strata Poster
Nic said:
Am I right in thinking that the net (which is actually the "SCAD" bit) is somehow attached to the lift bit, so its winched into place automatically? Therefore, surely the only way it could be too low would before the whole lift to not have gone right to the top?

You're correct. As they put you into the bucket and take you up to the preferred height, the net goes up with you and is locked into place to where it's not too low. And that would probably be the only explanation for it being too low
 

Mushroom

Goon of the Year
CF members on a Scad Tower last year:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cePtbeXCyVU[/youtube]

If I remember rightly, 1 of the guys said to keep in the same position all the way down. If you flip, it COULD be dangerous. It is a shame that someone got injured on a similar one =[
 
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