Girl Knocked Unconscious on Ride at Six Flags

[overlord]

Here is the link. And here is the story for those are too lazy to click the link:

Girl Knocked Unconscious On Ride at Six Flags
Jun 9, 2006 9:59 pm US/Central

(CBS) LOCKPORT, Ill. A young girl and her friend were on a new ride at Six Flags when a serious accident knocked her out and sent them both to the hospital.

Witnesses say she was knocked out by the initial fall until she came to the bottom of the ride and was hit in the face with a wave. That is when she came to, screaming.

"I really don't remember anything, because, like my mom said, I was unconscious,"

Keely Vercellotti does not remember her first ride on Great America's newest attraction. That is probably a good thing because her turn on the Tornado was not pretty.

"When I see Keely coming out she was unconscious," said Lisa Lovelace. "And you can see, evidently her head, it was open."

Keely suffered a concussion and now has 28 stitches in her head.

Lisa Lovelace's son was also on the raft. Dylan does not know exactly what happened, but he remembers when Keely chipped her tooth on his leg.

"I had blood going down my back, because it was from her face. I was really scared."

It happened when the two children slid to the top of the ride and plummeted to the bottom.

"They are so lucky to be even alive. It is a huge drop," said Lovelace.

Keely's mom agrees, and had immediate concern about neurological damage.

"It was awful. It was just awful. And, um, and the fact that she had no memory," said Sharon Vercellotti.

Lovelace and Vercellotti say hospital officials told them that more than half a dozen kids have been treated at the emergency room because of injuries sustained on the Tornado. They are calling for it to be shutdown.

CBS 2 News tried to reach the officials at the amusement park after hours and were unable to do so.

The Tornado officially opened for business today after being shutdown after the initial accident.

Follow Up Story

Source: Pioneer Press

Six Flags to keep watch on Tornado

BY ANGELA D. SYKORA | STAFF WRITER

Six Flags Great America officials said they are keeping a close eye on its newest water park ride Tornado after a child was injured June 7, but they have no reason to believe the attraction is defective.

"We're confident it's operating the way it's suppose to," said Jim Taylor, the park's public relations manager.

Gurnee Fire Chief Fred Friedl confirmed paramedics from his department were called to the park shortly after 2 p.m. June 7. Friedl said Gurnee paramedics assisted a 10-year-old girl who suffered a laceration on her face after allegedly falling out of the ride's raft and into a splash pool below.

The child, who was reportedly on a school field trip from Joliet, was riding in the raft with another child at the time of the incident. The minimum capacity for the raft is two people. The maximum is four. Riders also need to be at least 48 inches tall. Taylor said the two children met the ride's requirements.

The Tornado features a four-passenger raft which lifts riders 75 feet into the air before thrusting them down a 132-foot long tunnel with more than 5,000 gallons of water. Riders are then sent whirling and spinning back and forth and side to side into a 60-foot wide tunnel. After weathering the turbulence riders are sent through the eye of the storm as they splash through a waterfall and into a catch pool below.

"We don't know how it happened," Taylor said. "We cannot re-create the situation."

On the scene, Taylor said the girl was immediately attended to by Six Flags paramedics until Gurnee Fire Department paramedics arrived.

The girl did not lose consciousness, Taylor said. "She was very alert."

Friedl confirmed this information. However, he reported the girl was transported to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville to receive medical attention, reportedly stitches.

The Tornado was shut down immediately following the incident, Taylor said, and remained closed for a day and a half, until June 9.

Taylor said the park contacted the ride's manufacturer, who sent a representative to the scene to inspect the ride.

"We don't do this normally, but it was a unique event," Taylor said.

Eleven Tornado rides have been operating in other Six Flags theme parks throughout the country since 2003, Taylor said, and nothing like this has previously occurred. The manufacturer, Taylor said, could find nothing defective with the ride, nor did Six Flags ride maintenance workers.

What are some of your opinions on this accident and the controversy following it?

[ChuckR]

I have never heard of any incidents on Tornado slides across the country. Is SFGAm version any bigger?

[overlord]

From the pictures of it, it doesnt look to be anything different from all the other tornados. I dont think this was a defect or anything in the ride. Seemed more like a pure accident. What can you really do about them?

[Dubya91]

Nothing wrong with the ride at all, sounds like the two children together did not weigh enough and they ejected...

[chilled182]

I think that was the hardest thing i have ever read.  Where did that come from?  They need a new writer.