Girl in Critical Condition After Wisconsin Amusement Park Accident
08/13/2010Wisconsin police have determined that an amusement park accident that left a 12-year-old girl in critical condition was a result of an operator error.
The girl fell more than 100 feet onto the ground at the “Terminal Velocity” freefall ride at Extreme World in Lake Delton, Wisconsin, according to WTAQ.
"She was basically unconscious, not moving and laying flat on her back with blood coming out of her ears and nose,” the girl’s father told CBS News. “Just a horrible, horrible scene. At the moment she fell and I heard that loud thud, I just assumed she was dead."
The ride is designed to take people 150 feet up in the air and then drop them into a safety net. However, the ride operator released the girl before the safety net was in place, said Lake Delton police. The girl was taken to a Wisconsin hospital where she was in critical but stable condition with 10 fractures in her back and one in her skull, reports CBS News.
The police have referred the case to the Sauk County District Attorney’s office to see if charges will be filed.
