Scary and kind of amazing story from Six Flags- The Great Escape in Lake George, New York. A teenage began to slip from the Skyride at the park, which was over an open walkway. The girl seemed to have slipped from underneath the lapbar and gets stuck. Guests in the park rushed to clear trees and actually managed to catch her as she fell from the ride.
A guest in the park captured it all on video, as guests and park personnel waited below:
The park released a statement last night about the incident:
Earlier this evening a guest fell from a chair on the sky ride. She was caught by a group of guests and security personnel. She has been transported to an area hospital and we are in the process of gathering more information. The safety and security of our guests is our top priority, there does not appear to be any malfunction of the ride, but we have closed the attraction until a thorough review of the ride can be completed.
The girl survived, and was taken to the Albany Medical Center, amazingly without any serious injuries. There was no word on how the accident happened, other than the girl was able to slip out underneath the bar. While accidents do happen, this one is a little strange. There is a pretty good sized double bar that looks as if it was designed to keep these things from happening. The ride doesn’t go very fast, and even in a sudden stop, there is a very small likelihood that someone could slip out. It will be very interesting to see what investigations and onride footage can find out. Whatever happened, whether it be Six Flags error, or guest error, or even ride malfunction, it needs to be looked at, either through training for employees, more secure restraints or whatever. The Great Escape should also look into some kind of more immediate evacuation plan to help in situations like this, or if the ride ever stalls and they need to get guests off. At other parks with SkyRide systems, the park has to call in the fire department, and repellers, mostly because the rides are over water.
Still, incidents like this at major theme parks are rare, and should not dissuade you from visiting your local theme park. Statistically, theme park attractions are safer than driving or even doing simple tasks around your home.
Most importantly, the other guests at the park worked quickly together to try and do their best to keep the girl from being seriously injured. Big congratulations and thanks to them for acting quick, and for being so amazing. It seriously kept a bad situation from turning into a tragic one.
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