People Were Not Smiling On The Smiler After Collision At Alton Towers

[Abroad]

Not entirely certain this should be here, - there may not have been a crime committed, though it does sound from the story like someone was negligent..... Please feel free to move it somewhere appropriate, if it is wrong here.

Four teenagers have been seriously hurt in a crash between two carriages on a rollercoaster ride at Alton Towers.

Sixteen people were in one carriage of the Smiler ride; the other was empty.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said the four, two girls and two boys, were trapped on the ride, about 25 feet (7.6m) above the ground.

Alton Towers tweeted all guests involved had been evacuated. A director described it as "the most serious incident" in the park's history.

Sophie Underwood, who was in the park at the time, said: "It wasn't very high but it was obviously high enough for them to cause some quite serious injuries to the people that were on the rollercoaster.

"They literally had come back off and round the back of a loop, and straight into another empty coach that had been stuck.

"There was a big crash, and I think there were quite a few people that were angry because they said that they had told the staff that the coach before had stopped but they hadn't actually called through."

History of problems

• A group of 16 journalists were left dangling on it at a steep angle as they tried out the rollercoaster before it opened to the public.

• The ride shut for four days in July 2013 after a piece fell off the track, and 48 people had to be rescued.

• It closed again in August 2013 for five days due to a "technical issue".

• In November 2013 it closed for five days after wheels fell off and hit four people in the front carriage. The injured people were looked after by park staff and did not need treatment by the ambulance service, a spokeswoman said at the time.

• Riders were also left stranded in the air when the ride ground to a halt at the top of a near vertical section 14 months ago.

Merlin Entertainment said there would be a "full investigation" and the Health and Safety Executive were already on site.

The company was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 after the crash, with shares down 3%.

It is the world's second-largest visitor attraction operator behind Disney and runs 105 attractions, 11 hotels and three holiday villages in 23 countries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32980354

 

[Satanica]

I don't think I will ever get over the needless death of Rosie Esparza at Six Flags here in Arlington, Texas. I don't know whether to blame poor training or what, but the people in charge of operating rides should be held to a high standard since the lives of the public are at stake.

 

[Forensicwx]

I don't think I will ever get over the needless death of Rosie Esparza at Six Flags here in Arlington, Texas. I don't know whether to blame poor training or what, but the people in charge of operating rides should be held to a high standard since the lives of the public are at stake.

Is she the lady that fell out because her restraint bar didn't come down far enough?

 

[lithiumgirl]

Not entirely certain this should be here, - there may not have been a crime committed, though it does sound from the story like someone was negligent..... Please feel free to move it somewhere appropriate, if it is wrong here.









http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32980354

Scary...it fits. Like the little boy that was eaten by the alligator. No crime , but fucking scary enough that Morbid wrote about it.

 

[LarzlovesJahi]

Too many technical difficulties with this coaster...reminds me of Kingda Ka at Six Flags in Jersey. Twice in one day we got to the front of the line, only to be turned away for technical difficulties...overheated tracks and such. Fear it is a bad design and have never tried to go on it again.

 

[Abroad]

Alton Towers has been closed while an investigation continues into a "dreadful" rollercoaster accident that left four people with serious injuries.

Two carriages crashed on the Smiler ride at the Staffordshire theme park on Tuesday, leaving some passengers trapped for four-and-a-half hours.

Two men, aged 27 and 18, a woman aged 19 and a girl, 17, suffered serious leg injuries in the crash.

Another 12 people - six men and six women - required medical treatment.

They included a man in his 20s, who suffered neck and abdominal injuries.

"Those two cars should not have been on the same piece of track. Technically that should not have happened.

"There are braking locks that should stop two cars being on the same section of track and somehow that didn't work the way it was meant to."

Asked about previous problems with the ride, Mr Varney said he thought there was "an awful lot of misreporting going on about that".

"Guest safety on those sorts of incidents is not really a major issue in the sense that when you are on a rollercoaster car, the car can't come off the track. When you have a glitch and the ride stops, it's not really an issue of safety to the riders," he said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-32987550

 

[Satanica]

Is she the lady that fell out because her restraint bar didn't come down far enough?

Yes, that's her. It's as if I was there, because I will see the entire thing in my mind. I'm about to cry right now, in fact.

 

[Prettypink513]

If they can shut down "son of beast" at Paramount King's Island, certainly they can close this for good

 

[Burke]

For those who enjoy (? Or just get a perverse thrill out of) reading about amusement park accidents, I suggest rideaccidents.com . It doesn't look like the site has been updated much since 2014 but it's full of reports like this. No search results came up on the site for Alton Towers but I suspect it's a server-side error, since the place Haas apparently had a history of malfunctions.

 

[Abroad]

No search results came up on the site for Alton Towers but I suspect it's a server-side error, since the place Haas apparently had a history of malfunctions.

Malfunctions, yes; but it would appear there have not been many injuries up until this crash.

 

[Abroad]

Two teenagers have been named as victims of the Alton Towers rollercoaster accident.

Joe Pugh, 18, and his girlfriend Leah Washington, aged 17, both of Barnsley, were riding on the Smiler on Tuesday.

Mr Pugh and Miss Washington and another man and a woman suffered leg injuries.

Nick Varney, chief executive of the park's owners Merlin Entertainments, said: "A full investigation is now under way and we will continue to work closely with the emergency services and the Health and Safety Executive to better understand the cause of this terrible accident."

Mark, who operated the Smiler ride in 2013, said: "I am frustrated that such a simple error has been made, knowing myself how the system should function and that it is one of the safest rides I've ever worked on.

"One carriage should only be in a certain block section at a time.

"When the empty carriage didn't make it to the next block section after a certain amount of time, the ride should have stopped any other carriages being sent and entering that block."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-32997703

 

[Macabre]

One of my worst fears right here.
I love roller coasters, but there is still that split second where I think twice before strapping in.

 

[Abroad]

Uh-oh!

Emergency services were not called until 11 minutes after the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash, it has emerged.

Theme park bosses were informed of the accident on Tuesday at 13:57 BST but ambulance crews said the 999 call was not made until 14:08.

Alton Towers said one of its first responders was soon on the scene and security staff would have called 999 as soon as an assessment had been made.

Sixteen people were hurt, four seriously, when the Smiler crashed.

Crews from the West Midlands Ambulance Service arrived on the scene at 14:35 and they called the fire service at 14:41.

Joe Pugh, 18, and his girlfriend Leah Washington, 17, both from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, suffered "significant leg injuries" in the crash.

Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton in Derbyshire, and 19-year-old Vicky Balch, who is believed to be from Leyland in Lancashire, were also seriously injured.

Mr Thorpe is being treated at University Hospital Coventry where his condition is described as stable.

The other three victims are being treated at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Shares in Merlin Entertainments, which owns the theme park, have fallen just over 2.6% since the accident, wiping about £100m off its stock market value.

One analyst has estimated the park could be losing £500,000 for every day it stays closed.

Earlier, Alton Towers said it would remain shut on Friday while the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues its investigation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33011347

 

[Abroad]

A 17-year-old girl injured in a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers has had her leg amputated, it has emerged.

Leah Washington was on the front row of the Smiler ride, which crashed into an empty carriage in front of it.

Three others who were also in the front row sustained serious leg injuries, while a fifth person is being treated for internal injuries.

The theme park reopened earlier and bosses said they would ensure the injured would be compensated.

The ride remains closed.

In a statement, Alton Towers said it had written to all 16 of the injured or their families.

It said: "Irrespective of the outcome of the current investigations into the causes of the accident, in these letters we have accepted full responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident and confirmed that we will ensure that compensation will be provided to them," the theme park said.

"We have recommended each of the injured guests or their families instruct a lawyer and submit a claim for compensation which we will ensure is dealt with swiftly and sensitively."

BBC correspondent Peter Wilson spoke to 26-year-old Meera Singh, who was sitting in the second row of the Smiler at the time of the crash, with her 49-year-old mother Chanda and her 29-year-old sister Vanisha.

"Meera said what they witnessed that day they will never forget for the rest of their lives," he said.

"Amazingly, they just got into a taxi after being cut out of the Smiler, as they just wanted to go home.

"She said the family just felt lucky to be alive."

Later Chanda Singh underwent surgery for her injuries.

The X-Sector of the theme park - which houses the Smiler, Enterprise and Oblivion rides - will remain shut until further notice, as part of the HSE investigation.

The Spinball ride will also be closed until enhanced safety protocols have been implemented.

Mr Varney said the design of the ride meant it would take slightly longer than it was hoped for new procedures to be put in place.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33040618

 

[Nell]

In a statement, Alton Towers said it had written to all 16 of the injured or their families.

It said: "Irrespective of the outcome of the current investigations into the causes of the accident, in these letters we have accepted full responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident and confirmed that we will ensure that compensation will be provided to them," the theme park said.

"We have recommended each of the injured guests or their families instruct a lawyer and submit a claim for compensation which we will ensure is dealt with swiftly and sensitively."

No company in America would ever write this letter.

 

[Anubis]

I don't think I will ever get over the needless death of Rosie Esparza at Six Flags here in Arlington, Texas. I don't know whether to blame poor training or what, but the people in charge of operating rides should be held to a high standard since the lives of the public are at stake.

Agreed!! I was also furious at the ignorant comments suggesting her weight was to blame.

 

[Abroad]

Victims of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash have received their first insurance payments.

A law firm representing eight of those injured when two carriages of the Smiler ride crashed on 2 June said interim payments had been released to help with the victims' rehabilitation.

Leah Washington, 17, who has had to have a leg amputated, is among those being represented by Stewarts Law.

On Friday it emerged that Mr Thorpe and another person injured in the accident - Chanda Chauhan, 49, from Wednesbury in the West Midlands - had been discharged from hospital.

Mr Thorpe, a hotel assistant manager, was treated for a collapsed lung and fractured leg, while Ms Chauhan had internal injuries and needed stomach surgery.

Merlin Entertainment, which owns Alton Towers, has said it has contacted those injured and all 16 on board at the time of the crash will receive compensation.

In a statement in the days after the crash it said: "We have recommended each of the injured guests or their families instruct a lawyer and submit a claim for compensation which we will ensure is dealt with swiftly and sensitively."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-33209693

 

[Forensicwx]

I cringe when I think of those riding in the front row, what they thought as they realized they were about to hit that other car. If their legs were dangling from the seats..

 

[misfirefly]

Yes, that's her. It's as if I was there, because I will see the entire thing in my mind. I'm about to cry right now, in fact.

i had that happen to me on a ride at the pavillion here in mb when i was a kid. i was riding with my step father and started to come out at the top of the loop. scariest 10 sec of my life i braced my feet and he grabbed my hair and one of my hands (all he could reach). it just unlatched 2 notches when we hit the top.

 

[Abroad]

Breaking news:

Owner of Alton Towers to be prosecuted over rollercoaster accident that injured five people in 2015, UK's HSE says

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35658850