Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK, KK) Discussion Thread

[Cyber.Fiber]

Drop Zone C.W. Has Been Closed. Aw this is my 2nd favorite ride there after Vortex! Well at least this means I am now unable get my feet torn off. It is Sad to hear only one foot could be re-attached.

[Blnkgttrst]

Acrophobia reopened saturday! I rode it yesterday and it was the first time i've been on it where both the rotation and the tilt have worked at the same time.

[coasterdude5]

At least one foot could be reattached, I'm sure it would be more difficult to have to learn to walk with two prosthetic feet rather than just one.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

It's sad that only one foot can be reattached. Hopefully they can design a good prosthetic for her.

 

This short movie clip is about a proposed new design on Intamin drop towers using LIM's to get the coaches to the top of the tower instead of cables.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=266220861213358367&q=intamin+drop+towers&total=12&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=3

 

Not sure if parks that already had cable lifts on their towers would be able to convert to the LIM system but if they could it would be worth it to me. It definantly cut the risk of cable snaps.

 

Sorry if thats not how im supposed to post videos I tried using the video tab thing but I couldnt figure it out. lol

 

Isn't that Coasterchi's animation? And it is fine that you just posted a link.

[Paul_Hollibone]

Hi everyone, paul from Australia.

 

As you may or may not know, our only Intamin drop ride (The Giant Drop) at Dreamworld has not closed due to this incident, and the park has since come under fire from the nationa media for this.

 

However I have noticed that since the accident that the lift upto the top of the tower has been slowed down quite considerably.

 

Just thought I would give you guys a lowdown of what the situation is down under.

[steel]

Why is everyone sad about this? The chances of both feet getting reattached successfully was basically zero. This is the best news since the accident.

[disneygurlz2s]

^^ I was thinking the same. I think it's fabulous that they were able to do that much. As others have stated, no one has really said where her feet were found, the condition that they were in or how quickly they were able to get her to surgery, so the fact that they could reattach one is a miracle.

 

Shari

[adc9787]

^^ Okay, well, yes it is a miracle that one foot could be reattached... but someone could still be sad. Think of the girl, yes, she might be happy for one foot, but you bet that she is sad for the other. Of course people will be sad. That is normal when things are not 100%.

 

As you said, the chances were extremely low... but there still were chances.

 

-Andrew

[piers]

I just got off Hurakan Condor at Port Aventura!

The tower at Parque de Atraccionnes was closed though!

[steel]

^^ Okay, well, yes it is a miracle that one foot could be reattached... but someone could still be sad. Think of the girl, yes, she might be happy for one foot, but you bet that she is sad for the other. Of course people will be sad. That is normal when things are not 100%.

 

As you said, the chances were extremely low... but there still were chances.

 

-Andrew

There's a fantastically huge chance that the other foot was damaged beyond repair. Remember that both feet hit concrete (or worse) after an enormous fall.

[verticalzero]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Doctors reattached the right foot of a 13-year-old girl involved in a gruesome amusement park accident, but her left foot was too severely damaged to repair, her family and doctor said in a statement Tuesday.

Kaitlyn Lasitter of Louisville remained in stable condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., Dr. Douglas Weikert, a surgeon and assistant professor at Vanderbilt, said in the statement.

 

"Things are progressing as expected over this first 10 days," he said.

 

Lasitter's feet were severed just above the ankles as she rode the Superman Tower of Power thrill ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom on June 21.

 

Investigators with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture said they have taken a cable they believe broke and severed Lasitter's feet, Wilbur Frye, executive director of the department's Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection, has said. The investigation will continue for several more weeks, Frye said.

 

Lasitter's mother, Monique Lasitter, thanked the doctors, nurses and hospital staff for their work.

 

"We would not want her to be at any other hospital during this difficult time," the statement said.

 

The state has been trying to determine what caused the cable to break. Investigators were taking written statements from witnesses, reviewing statements and analyzing physical evidence and photographs of the scene, Frye said.

 

The ride was last inspected April 5 and found to be operating normally, Frye said. The ride passed inspection in each of the last four years, according to records.

 

The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them nearly the same distance at speeds reaching 54 miles per hour.

 

Six Flags had shut down similar rides for safety inspections at parks in St. Louis; Gurnee, Ill.; and near Washington as a safety precaution, said Wendy Goldberg, a spokeswoman for Six Flags.

[adc9787]

^^ It was. It least that is what the MSN said.

 

Edit: Oops... ^That's what I read right there!

[steel]

OMG, I'm a genious.

[viking86]

I dont know if this is related to this accident, but Fritt Fall, the Intamin drop tower at Gröna Lund, has had its standup floorless tilting car closed all week with the cables removed. The other two regular cars have been operating as normal.

[krouvi]

Poor girl. I think that right now she can't understand her situation as she's on massive pain killers that just help her to handle this.

[andre8]

That will hurt if I were her. The saddest thing i've heard in my life.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

OMG, I'm a genious.

Now if only you could spell the word genius.

 

 

But I still feel sorry that only 1 foot could be reattched.

[sixflagsguy5]

It sucks that only one foot could get reattached. I was hoping that they would be able to reattach both but unfortunately that isn't the case. I'm still very suprised that this accident happened. I always thought that the Intamin drop towers were 100% safe. Giant Drop at Six Flags Great America is still closed as of last night. One of the cars is only halfway up the tower with the inspection car on top of it.

[spaceace12]

It finally happened. I personally hope that they get medical cost and some damages, but if they are seeking thier fortune. I hope they dont' get it. And I hope it is set aside for the girl, not the parents.

 

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/NEWS01/707130451

 

The parents of a 13-year-old Louisville girl whose feet were severed by a Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom amusement ride on June 21 sued the theme park yesterday, claiming it failed to maintain the equipment and ensure riders' safety.

 

Kaitlyn Lasitter's parents, Randall and Monique Lasitter, are seeking an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages as well as a jury trial.

 

 

 

The lawsuit filed in Jefferson Circuit Court also asks that a judge issue a temporary injunction to stop the park from altering or destroying the Superman Tower of Power ride or the cable it says broke and tore off both of Kaitlyn's feet above the ankles.

 

Carolyn McLean, a spokeswoman for the theme park, said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

 

However, McLean said the ride is shut down and "will continue to be shut down until we decide what to do with it" after the investigation is complete.

 

Kaitlyn, a Highland Middle School student, is in stable condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Doctors there reattached her right foot, but couldn't save the left one because of the severity of the injury.

 

Kaitlyn's parents declined to comment yesterday through hospital spokesman John Howser, referring calls to their attorney, Larry Franklin.

 

Franklin did not return phone calls to his office and home seeking comment.

 

Howser said Kaitlyn is recovering well.

 

Investigators have said it might be weeks before they find out what caused the ride malfunction.

 

The lawsuit alleges Kentucky Kingdom was negligent in inspecting, testing, maintaining and operating the Superman Tower of Power ride, which also is known as the Hellavator.

 

The lawsuit also claimed the theme park was careless in operating a "highly dangerous ride at high speeds."

 

All amusement park rides must be inspected annually by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Office of Consumer and Environmental Protection before the park opens for business. The Tower of Power was inspected April 5 and found to be operating normally.

 

The ride lifts passengers 177 feet, then drops them at speeds reaching 54 mph.

 

Kaitlyn, according to the lawsuit, has suffered permanent injury, severe emotional pain and her ability to earn money has been impaired.

 

The suit also requested damages for the emotional pain Kaitlyn's parents have endured as well as money to care for their daughter during her recovery and "well being for the rest of their lives."

 

Claims made in filing a lawsuit give only one side of the case.

 

The Superman Tower of Power remains under a stop-operation order issued by the department, which inspects amusement park rides.

 

Before the ride would operate again, the department must inspect and test it.

 

After reading the article.

 

WTF, operating at a unsafe speeds? Also, they inspect it daily, and this was a freak accident, how could they be negligent unless they knew the cable would fail.

 

I could see a lawsuit for some money, but I hope it isn't for millions upon millions.

[Jonathan]

Reread that part again that you quoted. It is a bit confusing, but the part they put in quotes is their description of the ride, rather than saying they were operating at high speeds. "Highly dangerous" is still off base, of course, as we all know.

 

They would be negligent if they failed to maintain the cable and allowed it to fray, and it looks like that may be the case.

 

We see so many silly and frivolous lawsuits these days, but this kind of thing is why civil suits exist. She deserves a lot of money from this, and will get it.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^^two million for the girl, and 8 for the parents...well the lawyer bills would come out of the girl's share

 

This is actually a lawsuit where money is owed, but like said above, it should be for the girl and not the parents.(although I'm positive the parents won't use ANY money for themselves. )

[FlyingScooter]

I think the pay-out will be enourmous, either by jury or out of court settlement.

 

Yeah, accidents happen, even on well inspected rides. All SFKK can prove is that they inspected the ride daily and saw no visible signs of wear and tear.

 

And that's when the girls attorney will say: Well, good thing they're inspected. But how well can they be inspected when a girls feet can become severed under normal operating conditions???

 

If I were this kids dad, I'd get the best lawyer there is.

[ginzo]

I think the pay-out will be enourmous, either by jury or out of court settlement.

 

I'd bet my paycheck that the settlement will be out of court. Six Flags doesn't have a leg to stand on. There's no way they can blame the rider for this, and they don't want the press of a prolonged trial.

 

If I were this kids dad, I'd get the best lawyer there is.

 

They could win this case with Lionel Hutz, the alcoholic lawyer from The Simpsons (RIP Phil Hartman).

[Jonathan]

^ Absolutely. Six Flags will want to keep this as quiet as they can and settle as fast as they can.

[ginzo]

^ Absolutely. Six Flags will want to keep this as quiet as they can and settle as fast as they can.

 

Well, it's already about as unquiet as a theme park accident can get. Countless people have asked me if I heard about "the roller coaster that cut that girl's feet off". But yeah, best to get the story out of the news post haste.