Louisville, Kentucky — Well we got an update from our good friend, 613. He is the father of Kaitlyn Lasitter. The name may not ring a bell for some of you, but for some of the old-timers of this site, the name brings back some memories. Kaitlyn was the unlucky girl who happened to be riding the Superman Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. The ride had not been maintained correctly, and a cable snapped severing both of Kaitlyn’s feet. It was one of our first stories we ever posted in which a family member came in to participate. Needless to say it was, and still is, an interesting read. Well, I just heard from 613 and we have an update in the form of a news article (and an awesome picture of the beautiful Kaitlyn).
The Courier-Journal has an article up detailing some of what was done, and not done, that lead to the malfunction of the ride Kaitlyn was on that day. One of the major points being that maintenance workers did not follow several of the ride manufacturer’s instructions for caring for the very cable that snapped. Hands-on inspection on any of the 10 cables on the Superman Tower of Power ride had not been performed, and park technicians did not lubricate the cables monthly opting to apply cornstarch instead.
Read the article for more details, but in a nutshell, the park is fucked. They failed to follow simple maintenance procedures provided by the manufacturer of the ride that led to a mechanical malfunction and the physical injury to Kaitlyn and others on that ride. While I am sure that Kaitlyn and her family would rather this incident never had taken place, unfortunately, it did. So I am hoping that the park gets reamed and the Lasitter’s get PAID. Not only for the gross negligence that led to the severe injuries Kaitlyn suffered, but also bolstering my suspicions I already had about these theme parks.
Thanks for the heads up on the article, 613, and again, I hope you, Kaitlyn and the rest of our family are doing well.
12 responses so far ↓
1
mg2
Apr 15, 2008 at 10:01 pm -I used to work for Six Flags Astroworld….many, many moons ago….
Anyway, most of the people working for Six Flags are kids. When I was there I was all of 18 years old, I was a ride operator and honestly I do not know if the training they gave me was enough to save someone in this kind of situation. In fact, I was told by some ride operators (especially the ride that drops you really fast) that they had been told to never, never, never hit the emergency button. So upon hearing that I dont know what I would have done in an actual emergency.
Also, the people that managed my park were not interested in the people coming to the park they were interested in the money they brought into the park.
I was actually assulted by a visitor of the park one night. She and her kids held me down punching and kicking me, while people stood around and watched. When I got out of the situation and park security came I was taken to a back office by one of the managers. After talking to me she told me it was better not to file charges against the woman for doing what she did becuase I would have to go to jail that night as well. I was only 18 and had no idea of the legal system. All I could think of was that I would get beat up in jail by the cops or the other prisoners. (I was very little, 5′ and only 87 lbs)
I hope that Six Flags has to pay loads of money to this family and I hope they actually learned something from this incident. I am so happy that 613 is not keeping quiet about what happen, and is fighting them. These are the ‘big boys’ and sometimes it is scary to fight them.
2
WryBread
Apr 15, 2008 at 10:02 pm -Why would a park that had dangerous equipment stint on safety checks? I am so sorry that this accident happened and I hope that the park gets held to the utmost reach of responsibility.
I, too, Morbid, have always been uneasy about rides that are supposed to put you in safe-danger.
3
Lizard
Apr 15, 2008 at 10:45 pm -BEAUTIFUL picture!
4
impqueen
Apr 16, 2008 at 3:50 am -What a gorgeous girl. I’m so sorry she’s had to go through this, and I hope Six Flags pays for her education, her medical bills and counseling, buys her first house and car, and finances her wedding, up to and including the dance lessons.
There’s no excuse for that kind of negligence.
5
solange822001
Apr 16, 2008 at 6:19 am -I will NEVER understand how people can get on rides like these anymore. As much as employees everywhere fuck up nowadays, there is no way I’m trusting my life or my child’s life to them. Every year there is some sort of accident or malfunction at the Youth Fair here in Miami. One year a girl got thrown out of the Gravitron (one side of it just flew off while she was inside) and got killed. When I heard about Kaitlyn I was absolutely horrifed, and I knew for sure that I was right for being weary. Poor, beautiful, girl. Something good will come out of this, I bet she’ll have the money to go to the finest college, and never have to worry about money again in her life. It’s the very LEAST she deserves.
6
bornagainpagan
Apr 16, 2008 at 7:56 am -Greed, and a disconnectedness that comes with business culture. I’m sure the boss man would have ensured the ride was safe if his daughter and niece were riding it regularly. Just look at the size of the ride and the G’s it pulls - that cable would have sheared a horse in half, given the tension and speed at critical failure. You’d be checking and re-checking a ride like that - to manufacturer’s specifications (especially in the Magic Land of Litigation) - unless your hubris and rampant capitalism had eaten away your sensibilities.
Were they able to reattach her feet?
7
LeeMouse
Apr 16, 2008 at 9:02 am -I was an older article from the link posted in the update, and this part just broke my heart:
That was the first thing I thought of when I first heard that this accident had happened to a teenage girl: the accident itself is bad enough, but teenagers can be so, so shallow and cruel, that the aftermath would be where the real difficulties came in.
By any measure, she is absolutely stunning, and will only be prettier, the older she gets. Sounds like she’s incredibly brave and strong, as well. One of the articles said that she’d hoped to be a model; I hope she still can be, because she’s a perfect example that beauty is many, many things…none of them having to do with the number of feet you have.
I wish her all the best, one redhead to another.
8
dop
Apr 16, 2008 at 1:10 pm -Glad to hear the poor girl(gorgeous by the way) is at least likley gona get paid a nice sum. She desserves it for all the grieff those fuckers caused her.
Hope its enuff dough to make those fucking irresponsible assholes think twice about neglecting the mantainence on their rides.
9
Lynn
Apr 16, 2008 at 1:51 pm -She looks like a red-headed Olsen Twin. Very pretty.
10
Miss. Hill
Apr 16, 2008 at 2:40 pm -Leemouse, well said!
Kaitlyn, is very beautiful and very photogenic, if modeling is still an interest for her I hope she pursues it!
What a tragedy for her and her family, I wish them the best!
How scary all this amusement park negligence is, I will never ride or watch my children ride without be reminded of the potential danger (this article and others in the forums, scary stuff), wtf!
11
crimenthusiast
Apr 16, 2008 at 2:52 pm -She is gorgeous! My son and his friend had told me about this at the end of last year, but I never found this article. Thanks, Morbid for posting an update! I showed her picture to my 14 year old - he said “she’s hot”…doesn’t matter to him that she has lost the use of her legs right now. I’m glad I raised him right to oversee people’s limitations and look at the person. He said that he would not have stopped talking to her. That makes me proud to hear that. Guess he did listen to me after all….
12
Athena
Apr 16, 2008 at 3:14 pm -Thanks for the update, 613! And thanks for posting it on the front page, Morbid.
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