NEWS: 12 year old girl severely injured in Wisconsin Dells

[Skycoastin Steve]

^What this guy said. I almost threw my computer through the window just now. Check facts using Google or any other convenient web search method before saying something like "didn't someone die on a Skycoaster?"

[jamesdillaman]

^ Didn't someone die on a skycoaster, though...

 

(really wants you to throw your computer through a window...)

[jynx242]

^ stirs the pot....

 

Has there been any more news on the girls condition? Ride/operator/park responsibility aside, someone was hurt BADLY. I truly hope she pulls through this.

 

David

[Fire2box]

^ stirs the pot....

 

Has there been any more news on the girls condition? Ride/operator/park responsibility aside, someone was hurt BADLY. I truly hope she pulls through this.

 

David

 

A recent video I saw of the doctor treating her and the family's lawyer, they said she communicates by blinking. Blinking once meaning yes and no blinks meaning no. I hope she gets better and hopefully she has no life altering injuries from it.

[Emiroo]

^ When your only means of communcation is blinking, I think it's safe to say that you have life altering (if not life threatening) injuries.

 

But again, my thoughts and prayers go out to the girl and her family.

[chadster]

The family of a 12-year old Parkland girl who was severely injured on an 'extreme' ride at a Wisconsin amusement park has reached a settle with the park. Friday, Stuart Grossman, the family attorney for Teagan Marti, confirmed to a pre-lawsuit settlement reached with Extreme World in Wisconsin Dells. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

 

Last July, Marti fell more than 100 feet on a drop ride known as the Terminal Velocity. She survived, but has been hospitalized ever since; Marti injured her neck, back, skull and other organs. She is continuing her recovery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

 

Grossman said they are still considering a lawsuit against the German manufacturer of the ride.

 

"They did not have a fail safe system that was as easy to put up as red tape, letting operators know the approximate height before the ride was dropped." Grossman said there should have been a magnetized switch in place as a backup system.

 

The attraction, known as a suspended catch air device, lifts riders to the top of four raised towers. At the top a ride operator unhooks the rider's harness for a 10-story, back-first, free fall, which ends with the rider lands in a net suspended 40 feet above the ground. From there the rider is slowly lowered to the ground and then they simply walk off the net.

 

On July 30th, however, when Marti stepped up for her turn, she fell to the ground because the ride operator did not check to make sure the safety net was in place. It wasn't and Marti fell to the ground without any measure to cushion her impact.

 

The ride operator, Chuck Carnell, has been charged with felony reckless injury.

 

Link

[traincrossin]

Bank to own Extreme World

BARABOO - The Bank of Wisconsin Dells will own Extreme World.

 

No other bidders attended a sheriff's auction of the foreclosed property Tuesday at the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo.

 

The bank filed to foreclose on the amusement park owner's mortgage in December 2009.

 

Baraboo Attorney Robert Ginther, who represents the bank, said it is assumed that the bank was the high bidder at Tuesday's sale. The sale must be confirmed by a judge.

 

In similar cases, Ginther said, banks sell the foreclosed property. However, he said, he does not know the intentions of the Bank of Wisconsin Dells.

 

A bank official declined to comment Tuesday.

 

On July 30, 13-year-old Teagan Marti was dropped about 100 feet before a net was in place on Terminal Velocity at Extreme World.

Article

[AllenA07]

I'd love to know what that settlement looks like, I'm sure it involves a huge amount of money however. Given the fact that this girl has been in the hospital for nearly 4 months her medical bills are likely already astronomical already, not to mention all the future care she is going to need. That is not even talking about the fact that she is going to be left with some serious psychological scars. Just to top all this off I'm sure extra money was thrown in there because this seems like a situation where punitive damages would have been in play. All said I wouldn't be shocked if, given the girls age, the settlement is in the 8 digit range.

[ilrider]

I just read this week she's heading home. She can't walk yet, but there is hope she may because she stretched her spinal cord but didn't sever it. It's amazing that she survived.

[chadster]

"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez traveled to Florida last week and spoke with 13-year-old Teagan about her fight for life.

 

Rodriguez said Teagan dreamed for months of going to Wisconsin's Extreme World amusement park for the thrill of riding Terminal Velocity.

 

Julie Marti, Teagan's mother, said, "She had seen this thing on the Travel Channel, and she wanted to go on it."

 

Travel Channel described Terminal Velocity as "a bungee jump without the chord."

 

The ride lifts people 100 feet above a net, then drops them into a freefall.

 

But when it was Teagan's turn to ride, the operator, Charles Carnell made a tragic mistake and released her without putting the safety net in place. Teagan plummeted 10 stories before crashing to the ground.

 

Rodriguez asked Teagan's mother, "How much did you see?"

 

Julie Marti said, "I saw the entire thing. I was the first one to do CPR on her and it was just horrific."

 

Teagan fractured several vertebrae, and crushed her pelvis, spleen and liver. Barely clinging to life, she was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

 

Carnell was criminally charged with reckless injury and faces up to 25 years in prison.

 

Julie Marti said of the accident, "I wish I could forget that moment, because I remember it all."

 

Today, Teagan struggles with the simplest of tasks, is unable to walk, and can barely speak.

 

When asked what she first remembered after the accident, Teagan answered, but inaudibly.

 

Her mother, speaking on her behalf, said, "Waking up in the hospital."

 

Now, nearly four months later, she spends three hours a day, five days a week at HealthSouth Rehab Hospital in South Florida.

 

When asked how she's feeling, Teagan says she's feeling strong.

 

Julie said, "In the beginning, we were told she is never going to walk again, but you know what -- God has different plans for her."

 

Since Teagan stretched, but did not sever her spinal cord, there's hope that she will one day walk again.

 

Rodriguez said to Teagan, "Give me a thumbs up if you believe you will walk again."

 

Teagan gave Rodriguez two thumbs up.

 

Though Teagan's voice is still extremely weak, she has perfectly re-mastered her ability to send text messages. In fact, she thanked Rodriguez, by sending this text message: "Hi Maggie, thank you for coming."

 

Rodriguez responded via text message, "You're welcome. You're my hero."

 

On "The Early Show" Teagan's mother, Julie, said she blames the ride operator, Charles Carnell, for negligence.

 

Rodriguez said Carnell has said through his attorney that he's devastated and that he just blanked out and didn't mean any harm.

 

Julie said, "It's never happened before so I don't understand how he said it could happen. There should have been a failsafe mechanism in place so this could never happen to anyone."

 

Since the accident, Rodriguez pointed out, the park has put up red tape to prevent other employees from releasing people too soon.

 

But Julie said that's too little too late.

 

"I don't think red tape is the answer," she said. "I think that there should be some mechanism in place that would prevent anyone from being dropped without something in place to stop that from happening."

 

When asked by Rodriguez what the appropriate punishment for Carnell might be, Julie said she couldn't offer an answer.

 

Rodridguez noted the family has settled with Extreme World, and is now going after the manufacturer of the ride.

 

And Carnell faces up to 25 years in prison.

 

Stuart Grossman, the family attorney, called Carnell "almost a tragic figure."

 

"I certainly never thought that he intentionally hurt Teagan," Grossman said. "Having said that, he represents a class of people who are given an awesome responsibility, and they just can't be 'blacking out' or not concentrating or whatever it might be."

 

Grossman said parents can learn from Teagan's accident.

 

"I think that the lesson is that despite your kid's wishes and impulses to want to go on these thrilling rides so-to-speak, take a look at the venue," he said. "Try to understand, is this a state-of-the-art machine? Is it something that is sort of cobbled together? You probably won't have that opportunity and we rely very heavily on the government to do the appropriate inspections, and this was just a battered piece of junk, frankly, that needed repair and this red tape wasn't a solution whatsoever."

 

Julie added, "I just think this ride should never be in operation again. It should be shut down, and this should never happen to anyone else ever again."

 

 

CBS News Link

[Chrisrad]

Wow! Incredible that she is still alive and recovering.

 

While I understand the lawsuit and its extent, I'm quite surprised that the operator faces such immense punishment. I'm not familiar with how the law works if you seriously injure someone based on your neglect, but 25 years in prison? Is that a bit far-fetched? Or? Perhaps someone with more knowledge can shed some light..

 

I guess it would be similar to a pilot who 'blacks out' and causes a plane to crash, severely injuring passengers..

 

It would be sad to think that the operator was the guy from Bert the Conqueror.. I think he even talked about how many riders he had released..

[the ghost]

It's good to hear shes doing well, but the final point...

"I think that the lesson is that despite your kid's wishes and impulses to want to go on these thrilling rides so-to-speak, take a look at the venue," he said. "Try to understand, is this a state-of-the-art machine? Is it something that is sort of cobbled together? You probably won't have that opportunity and we rely very heavily on the government to do the appropriate inspections, and this was just a battered piece of junk, frankly, that needed repair and this red tape wasn't a solution whatsoever."

 

This part kind of was stupid. It was due to an employees stupidity and had nothing to do with the ride in question. Granted I dont know what he could have said, but people make it seem that there is VERY little that goes into opening a ride when in truth there are so many precautions taken.

 

This is a very tragic story, however, but it looks like the ending will be relatively happy.

[CardCraze]

Wow, twenty five years?

 

I am NOT justifying his stupidity, or what happened, but doesn't that seem a tad harsh? It was an accident, an avoidable one for certain, but still an accident. I don't feel he should walk away cleanly, but would five or ten years max seem more reasonable?

[cfc]

^Twenty-five years is probably the maximum sentence. That doesn't mean that they will be sentenced to 25 years. Up to a judge and jury.

Edited November 23, 2010 by cfc

[DATman]

This part kind of was stupid. It was due to an employees stupidity and had nothing to do with the ride in question. Granted I dont know what he could have said, but people make it seem that there is VERY little that goes into opening a ride when in truth there are so many precautions taken.

 

This is where I would normally agree, but with this particular ride, there really wasn't any sort of fail-safe in place to account for employees not paying attention. There should have been some way to prevent the rider from being dropped before the net was in place. Which really surprised me when I read that the ride didn't have a fail-safe.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-teagan-walks-parkland-20111106,0,1799411.story

 

Tightly gripping a walker, Teagan Marti took about 20 short but sure steps to lead the several dozen people who gathered Sunday in her honor at Pine Trails Park.

 

It was a major accomplishment for the 14-year-old Parkland girl who was seriously injured on July 30, 2010, in a fall from the Terminal Velocity ride at the Extreme World Amusement Park in the Wisconsin Dells.

 

At first, she was not expected to survive; then she was not expected to overcome paralysis and walk again.

 

Julie Marti, her mother, said she had been watching Teagan walk for several months in rehab.

 

"It was exciting to see her do it in front of her friends, supporters and family. The doctors told her she would never walk again, and she's proved them wrong."

 

Last year, the first time the Margaux's Miracle walk in the Park was dedicated to Teagan, she was unable to attend because she was still too weak to stand up.

 

Among the participants at Sunday's walk was a family of seven from Eau Claire, Wisc.. Lucia Wilgus made the 30-hour, 1,600-mile drive with her mother, niece, and four children.

 

"Everything about Teagan represents innocence and sweetness. She is such an inspiration," Wilgus said.

 

"Many people have been struck by her survival," she said. "It could have been my child."

 

The Wilgus family has been raising money for Teagan ever since they heard about her spectacular fall 15 months ago. At the amusement park on a family vacation, the teen was supposed to free fall from 140 feet into an elevated safety net. But the net did not rise, and she fell to the ground.

 

"People back home really remember the accident because it happened in Wisconsin," Wilgus said.

 

The Martis' family attorney, Stuart Z. Grossman, walk organizer and chairman of the Margaux's Miracle Foundation, said he was amazed by Teagan's progress.

 

"When she came home, she was virtually on life support," he said. "Sixty days ago she would not come out of her bedroom for an interview with a local television station.

 

"Now look at her. I don't think anyone could have predicted this."

 

After the first 20 steps of the walk, Teagan had to sit in a chair to rest. But the walk to and from the parking lot was at least three times farther.

 

The teen obviously did not relish being the center of attention, and shied away from television cameras and the public-address announcer.

 

She saved her biggest smiles for the flock of girls her own age who surrounded her, wearing yellow "Miracles 4 Teagan" T-shirts and wristbands.

 

In their midst, she was just another 14-year-old with a bunch of friends, enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the park.

[beatle11]

Great to hear she is making such great progress!

[imawesome1124]

The mere fact that she survived the fall was a miracle itself. The fact that she can now walk (with assistance) is more inspiring than anything I can think of in recent history.

[downunder]

This is great to hear that she has progressed so much in her recovery.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

This put a smile on my face.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Same. Her survival, rehab, and amazing progress is nothing short of amazing!