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A six-year-old boy in England is reportedly in critical condition after falling 15 feet from a roller coaster at Lightwater Valley Theme Park.
The child was medevacked to Leeds General Infirmary after falling from the Twister rollercoaster on Thursday morning at the amusement park in North Stainley, North Yorkshire, BBC reports.
One witness described the boy as “hanging backwards outside of the actual carriage” before taking a tumble.
An air ambulance airlifts a boy who fell from a roller coaster at Lightwater Valley theme park on May 30, 2019 in North Stainley, England. (Photo by Simon Moran/Getty Images)
"He's obviously got himself out of his restraint somehow," Mark Charnley told Sky News. "Two seconds after that he actually fell out of the carriage to the floor, maybe around [12 to 15 feet] he fell.
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“[The boy] mustn’t have been strapped in right, or too small for ride. As it went down the fast bit towards the ‘souvenir’ camera he slid out and over the top of the carriage,” parkgoer Simon Moran recounted, as per The Daily Telegraph.
Charnely, who was on the ground waiting in line at the time of the accident, said that witnesses started shouting at the ride attendant when they saw what was happening “as he hadn’t noticed what had gone on.”
“Two guys dove over the actual barriers to get to the lad who was on the floor,” Charnley added.
An air ambulance arrives to attend to a boy who fell from a roller coaster at Lightwater Valley theme park. (Photo by Simon Moran/Getty Images)
The ride halted to an emergency stop. North Yorkshire police and emergency medical personnel soon arrived at the scene.
As of Friday morning, reps for Lightwater Valley confirmed in a statement that the child is now in “critical condition” after the fall and that an investigation is ongoing.
“We have been informed by North Yorkshire Police that the medical condition of the child involved in the incident at the park yesterday is now described as critical,” the release read. “We are devastated by this news and our thoughts are with the family.”
The boy was reported as seriously injured and airlifted to a nearby hospital. (Photo by Simon Moran/Getty Images)
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“While the Health and Safety Executive investigation is continuing, we will support them and be guided by their advice,” they added.
In 2001, 20-year-old Gemma Savage died on the same amusement park ride – then known as the Treetop Twister – when two cars collided, the Daily Mirror reports.
Paramedics attend to the boy who fell from a roller coaster at Lightwater Valley. (Photo by Simon Moran/Getty Images)
The ride manufacturers and theme park owners were later fined $195,000 after it was discovered that faulty wiring was to blame.
The woman's mother, Linda Savage, described the recent accident as “unbelievable” and declared that lessons "have not been learnt.”
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“Lessons clearly have not been learnt. The ride was not fit for purpose 18 years ago and it is still causing problems,” Savage told the Telegraph. “The accident that killed Gemma devastated our family and our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young boy who was injured.”
In 2017, Lightwater Valley was fined $50,000 after a five-year-old girl was hurt when her leg got trapped while riding The Ladybird attraction.
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