Posted
A 4-year-old who was critically injured when thrown from a ride at Six Flags Marine World this weekend was transferred out of the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Oakland today after her condition was upgraded from serious to fair. Marine World officials said the seat lap bar was still locked when the machine operator stopped the ride immediately after the girl fell out.
Read more from KTVU/San Francisco.
Additional details regarding a pending lawsuit surrounding the same ride are available from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Best theory I've heard so far is size difference between the girl and her mom. If that's what it turns out to be, then it'll be interesting to see what they do to remedy the situation.
Just curious, anyone know what the height requirement is on the Starfish? Knott's version of the wipeout has a 48" height requirement, just enough that my 6 year old can't get on yet.
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Sometimes it's up. Sometimes it's down.
But with God, life is one thrill ride that you'll never regret being on.
It's always unfortunate to hear about any accident at a park.
I guess we'll have to wait to fnd the real answer to what happened... but...
In the article, it says that they installed low-pressure alarms, so it's probably not the same issue as the last injury.
There is one question that I'm curious about, and Sir Willow has a very good point. What are the height requirements and did the girl meet them?
Having been on a wipeout, I can see how a small rider could easily be thrown out of the ride by slipping right though the restraint.
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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean
Yes coderGirl. I do feel comfortable with my daughter getting on rides where she just makes it. I shouldnt have to play the guessing game for her if she is safe or not.
I am supposed to have confidence in the height restriction which in the state of Illinois, they require all rides with height restrictions that are set by the ride manufacturer to be strictly enforced. If she makes the requirement even if its by a small margin, she BETTER be safe!!!
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
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:)KENNYWOOD:)
I must question the word-choice when it comes to the title for this article here.
Upgraded? To me, that is what you get when you pay an extra 50c at Burger King.
Aside from my pickiness, I think it is great that she is getting over this. It would be tragic to loose such a young child.
What type of ride is this exactly? I would like to see a photo of the ride, see what it does exactly, and how something like this has been possible.
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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?
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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page
The size difference of the riders may just be the reason. If a an adult and a child ride together, and there is one lap bar, the bar can only come down tight to the adults legs. Any small child could come out of a ride in this situation. I have noticed this before on other single bar rides.....Solution is seat belts, matching height of riders, individual lap bars, or some kind of bar that will come down to the leg heights of different size riders.d
Oh, ok, yeah - we've got one of them at my home park. Now I see how this is possible, especially with a small child.
Can't say I'm exactly a medical expert, so don't blame me for being ignorant, GregLeg :) - my brother is a doctor, that's about it. And I've been to the doctor for about one in every worthy injury I've had in the past five years.
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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?
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