Girl's feet severed on ride at Six Flags

Killroy · #1 June 22nd, 2007, 01:14 AM

Louisville, Kentucky -- A 16-year-old girl had her feet severed after a ride she was on malfunctioned. The Superman Tower of Power, a ride in which passengers are lifted to 177 feet, suspended momentarily and then dropped 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping just 20 feet above the pavement. Witnesses describe hearing a cable snap and then strike passengers.

"The cable went under the car -- and I seen it pull up and hit a lot of people -- and I seen them bring their legs up,"

An anonymous witness stated "The people on the ride just came and hit the ground. When I got up there, the lady she was just sitting there, and she didn't have no legs. ... And she was just there, calm, probably in shock from everything."

The incident took place shortly before 5 p.m. ET, according to Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg. The park remained open, but the ride was shut down until a full investigation is complete, Goldberg said.

Killroy · #2 June 27th, 2007, 04:03 PM

First there was Chelsea Tumbleston, who fell off a roof and died, and now you have this girl who had both feet cut off. It has been revealed her name is Kaitlyn Lasitter.

What are the chances?

swivel · #3 June 27th, 2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killroy

First there was Chelsea Tumbleston, who fell off a roof and died, and now you have this girl who had both feet cut off. It has been revealed her name is Kaitlyn Lasitter.

What are the chances?

Looking back, I would have to say 100%.

Athena · #4 June 27th, 2007, 05:55 PM

Holy christ. From a snapped cable? And to think, I felt relieved after Myth Busters "proved" that a snapped cable couldn't cut a person in half...Being dismembered isn't much better.

apocalypticdreamer · #5 June 27th, 2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

Holy christ. From a snapped cable? And to think, I felt relieved after Myth Busters "proved" that a snapped cable couldn't cut a person in half...Being dismembered isn't much better.

Perhaps the Myth Busters need to retest.

swivel · #6 June 27th, 2007, 08:26 PM

It seems that the victim was planning to go after Six Flags with a very aggressive lawsuit...

... but her legal advice was that she really didn't have a leg to stand on.

AnalBreeze · #7 June 28th, 2007, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killroy

First there was Chelsea Tumbleston, who fell off a roof and died, and now you have this girl who had both feet cut off. It has been revealed her name is Kaitlyn Lasitter.

What are the chances?

Next we'll have a Guy named Otto Octavius who winds up with eight limbs.
Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. What are the odds? :D

Killroy · #8 June 28th, 2007, 04:04 PM

Kaitlyn Lasitter

Athena · #9 June 28th, 2007, 04:25 PM

Pretty girl.

swivel · #10 June 28th, 2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

Pretty girl.

Too short for me.

613 · #11 July 4th, 2007, 01:06 PM

WOW! You people aren't Evil your just a bunch of idiots with no lives.

apocalypticdreamer · #12 July 4th, 2007, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 613

WOW! You people aren't Evil your just a bunch of idiots with no lives.

Thank you. :)

Killroy · #13 July 4th, 2007, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 613

WOW! You people aren't Evil your just a bunch of idiots with no lives.

How ironic that someone would take the time to register to a site to post that the members on it have no lives.

Killroy · #14 July 4th, 2007, 02:09 PM

BTW, if the one foot does take, I wonder if they will change her name to Eileen?

*rimshot*

Thank you, thank you..I'm here all night!

Killroy · #15 July 6th, 2007, 03:38 PM

Hey guys\gals, I have the room number for Kaitlyn. She will probably be there until Friday, so I would like to get her something sent to her room. Before I did anything on behalf of myself I didn't know if any of you would like to chip in and we just address it with our names or something. She's 12, so I am assuming that balloons and stuffed animals are probably not out of the question.

The gift shop is on-line and accepts credit cards, so I can purchase it that way. The gift shop is here:

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vu...?site=giftshop

Any ideas?

Normally I would ever imagine doing something like this for every messed up story we feature on this site, but as you have read, things are a tad more personal with this and there is the fact that Kaitlyn's dad has not only posted here but has PM's me a couple of times. He seems like a pretty cool guy who along with his family and Kaitlyn, got some hurdles to get over in the upcoming days.

So, no need to feel obligated as I am doing this regardless..I just wanted to make sure that if anyone wanted to chip in, PM me. I'll probably do the purchasing on Sunday or Monday. If you would rather do something yourself, PM me or more preferably, 613, for her room number.

Athena · #16 July 6th, 2007, 04:01 PM

Class Act Federal Credit Union
(502) 964-7575
3620 Fern Valley Rd.
Louisville, KY

Here's the phone number for the bank that has set up the fund. I will be contributing to that.

Killroy · #17 July 6th, 2007, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

Class Act Federal Credit Union
(502) 964-7575
3620 Fern Valley Rd.
Louisville, KY

Here's the phone number for the bank that has set up the fund. I will be contributing to that.

Which may be an even better idea in general. I am pretty sure Six Flags will be paying the family some money, but who knows how long that will take. I will probably contribute to that fund as well, but I still would like to give something specifically to the daughter, so I will still be ordering something on Sunday or Monday.

For the few people who have already PM'd me, I am not real sure how to go about it now that I think about it. I have a Paypal (linked above in the Wanna Help section) but only a few of you know me personally so I would understand your hesitation on just sending money to my Paypal account and hope I am doing what I say I am doing. But I don't know of any other way to go if we are all going to chip in on something. :neutral:

bexter · #18 December 8th, 2007, 11:21 PM

pretty scary ordeal, I hate roller coasters anyway. But to be permanently maimed from one. Yikes.

MISSanthropic · #19 November 25th, 2008, 08:55 PM

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...311220008/1008

Quote:

Nearly 1 ½ years after Kaitlyn Lasitter's feet were severed on a ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the amusement park has reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with the teenager's family, who had sued the park for negligence.
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The lawyer for Kaitlyn's parents, Monique and Randy Lasitter, said they are "relieved" the case is over, but hardly happy.

"The word 'happy' is not used in this family," the lawyer, Larry Franklin, told reporters yesterday. "There is no way you can be OK when your daughter's legs are cut off."

In a statement, Kentucky Kingdom said it deeply regretted "the tragedy that Kaitlyn suffered" and said the settlement will provide "lifetime care" for her.

Franklin disputed that, saying that Kaitlyn's medical condition is unstable and it is impossible to know what the future holds for her.

The amount of the settlement wasn't disclosed, but Franklin noted that Kaitlyn's unpaid medical bills total nearly $500,000 and that Kentucky law allows recovery for future lost income, as well as pain and suffering.

He said the family plans to move from Louisville "to get a fresh start" and allow Kaitlyn to avoid taunts and bad jokes related to the June 21, 2007, accident.

Kaitlyn, then 13, was riding the Superman Tower of Power -- which lifted passengers 177 feet, then dropped them at speeds of more than 50 mph -- when a cable broke and severed her feet.

Her parents, who didn't talk to reporters yesterday, alleged that Kentucky Kingdom was negligent in inspecting, testing, maintaining and operating the ride.

State officials announced last May that it was impossible to pinpoint why a cable became fatigued and snapped on the ride, but they said Kaitlyn's injuries would have been limited to "cuts and scrapes" if the ride operator had immediately hit its emergency stop button.

Officials also said the accident might have been avoided if park workers had followed the ride manual's instructions for detecting deterioration in the cable.

The amusement park, which was fined $1,000, the maximum allowed at the time, denied liability in the Lasitters' lawsuit and blamed the accident in part on the ride's Swiss manufacturer.

After the accident, doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., reattached Kaitlyn's right foot but could not save her left foot, which was later fitted with a prosthesis.

Since then, Kaitlyn has undergone four amputation surgeries, including one last February in which surgeons cut 1 ½ inches of bone from the end of her left leg after it had grown through the muscle tissue and began pushing through the skin.

She underwent surgery again last month to repair a plate connecting her reattached foot to her leg and to add some genetically engineered bone.

SoUncool · #20 November 25th, 2008, 09:01 PM

Thanks for the update M. There is seriously no amount of money that can compensate this family in my opinion. I'm glad that they will be able to get a fresh start. I can pretty much bet that there was also not enough punitive damages against the park and/or ride's insurance companies that it will even hit them hard enough to make them think twice about boosting their ride inspections. They were probably hyper-vigilante for a few months but it's probably back to business as usual...

Morbid · #21 December 1st, 2007, 12:59 AM

Been awhile since we have heard anything from 613, but I saw this today:

Six Flags Seeks To Dismantle Ride That Took Girl's Feet

http://www.wlky.com/news/14731013/detail.html