Accident at StoryLand NH?

Hi all. My wife came home from work yesterday and said that one of her colleagues at work was at StoryLand in New Hampshire over the weekend ( A popular kiddy park in the mountains for those of you not in the Northeast). Apparently, a father and daughter were riding on the Polar Coaster and the father fell out and hit a support beam. From what she was told their lap bar did not lock, so the people riding behind them quickly grabbed the little girl and held her until the end of the ride. Has anyone heard anything of this? It didnt even make the news here in Boston as far as I can tell. I've been on this coaster with my little ones and without a lap bar I still don't think you could fall out. Anybody know more out there?

No mention found on news.google.com; witholding judgement for a week.

There was an accident on 10/12 around noon. A grandfather and his grandaughter (around 8 yrs old, I'm guessing) somehow were passed through the gates to the ride (even though all the cars were filled as they line you up by car #) and sat on the front of the second car in the two car set up. Literally -- sat on the nose of the second car which looked sort of like a bench -- no sides, no lap rail. My husband was in the second seats of the first car and as the ride went up the first big hill, the guy behind him was scuffling around and seemed to bump the release for my husband's lap bar which he rested back into place. As the ride crested the big hill and started down the big drop my husband heard the man say something like "I don't think we're in the right spot." He turned around as the ride hit the curve at the bottom and saw the guy fly off the ride. He leaned back and grabbed the girl, lifting her forward, up and over into his car and slipping her into the empty seat beside him (luckily our girls were in the first car in front of him so he had an empty spot.) It was pretty upsetting and freaky and upsetting to watch -- I didn't see the guy fall off, but saw my husband hoisting the girl through the air as the ride went on. Poor kid. No sign of the grandfather from where I was standing, but saw park people running under the ride. Have been checking the Conway daily online site and Boston Globe's site/NH section for the story, but with the 10 yr boy missing in the same general area for 4 days...clearly the guy didn't die, but from what we understand from the insurance co. who called yesterday to talk with my husband, the guy was pretty banged up.

how could they start a ride w/o people even being in a seat? I don't understand that at all....

I've been on Polar Coaster. Luckily the track is only 15 ft. off the ground at most during the entire course.

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SFNE Central- Online Six Flags New England Resource

That story of someone siting on the front of the car sounds fishy to me. Am I to believe that no one, employees nor customers, saw them and had the ride stopped. I mean the chain lift is long, slow, and visible to onlookers. How could the ride proceed beyond the lift hill without someone seeing them and stopping the ride? Besides, the story above refers to the ride cresting the big hill and going down the "big drop." The polar coaster does not have any drops. It is a gradual winding descent. I'm not sure I believe this story, and I can't believe that it could have happened that way without making even the New Hampshire papers. I'm not saying there wasn't an accident, but I would like to see a more official report.
*** This post was edited by gardener14 10/18/2003 11:14:41 PM ***

^ agreed ^
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Proud member of:
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PKI Central

My life is spent in between metal railing, where I stand for hours just to sit down for 3 minutes then to get up and do it allover again.

a) having been there just last Sunday, there actually is a straight downhill drop (not a winding gradual descent), with a sharp turn at the end. While the polar coaster is a kiddie ride, agreed, if you were sitting in a spot with no sides to the seat and no lap bar and were in your 60s with a young grand child with you, it would indeed seem like a big enough drop. The gentleman literally flew off while crying out oh my god ow ow ow.

b) Yes, neither the operators nor the man noticed that he and his grand daugher were not in an official seat; needless to say the operators did not check their lap bars or should have noticed; of course, the operators looked to be about college aged, if that.

c) I also find it very odd that it wasn't in the local papers, but as it was the last day the park was in operation for the season, and the very hush hush manner the staff handled the situation, not totally surprising -- they were not advertising about it.

Uh, buddy, the only other place that a person could sit would be between the cars. I'm thinking that decently intelligent riders would realize that they're standing on a wheel axle when they sat down.

Also, I'm kind of curious where this large drop and 2 car setup is. If you'd kindly take a look at this gallery, you'd notice that there are three cars to a train and not a single straight drop during the duration of the ride.

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Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Online
*** This post was edited by PhantomTails 10/19/2003 9:21:58 PM ***

How could the front of that look like a bench?

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http://coasterplace.web1000.com

OK folks, I went to the gallery link, and none of the 3 pix show the hill the ride climbs after you board and leave the loading area. And, if you look at the middle pix--the front of the second car, you'll see a black flat area like the bottom half of a bench seat -- that is where the man and his grand daughter were seated. Don't ask me how...how did they not realize?...how did the operators not realize?...etc. I already theorized above on these Qs and I'm only telling you what I saw first hand and what my husband told me as a rider in the second seat of the first car. I see third cars in the ride train in the pix on the gallery, and frankly, their might have been a third car that day, too. I really was only focused on the kid being hoisted through the air, people running under the coaster, people around the ride exclaiming that a man fell off, everyone stuck on the ride when it stopped on the rails before the loading area for 15-20 minutes with the crying girl, the giving of statements after the accident. There could have been a third car of passengers, but my attention was on the frightened kid after I realized it wasn't one of my kids sitting with my husband. If y'all don't believe me, oh well.