[cwgator]

This is a sad story. I hope she will be ok and recovers.

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100730-bungee-accident,0,3466511.story?track=rss

On a personal note....Up until recently I said I would never do this and changed my mind to try it after seeing it on different Travel Channel shows. However now, I'm back to thinking I won't do this type of attraction. I know there are risks associated with any ride or attraction and this is an isolated incedent with this particular ride. I just don't think I can do it.

[swampfox43]

Just don't plan on riding anything in Russia soon. Take a look at this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSj9P-xJJ70

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

^^^ I saw that rocket ride thing a while back thats gotta suck hanging there, I guess that is better than falling.

Back to terminal velocity, that is so crazy! I just watched the episode of Bert @ wisconsin dells not to long ago and thought how awesome that ride would be at carowinds, but I also thought to myself I wonder if the net has failed. It really amazes me that they say the net wasnt high enough off the ground? How can you open a ride that isnt ready, I mean if they KNEW it wasnt high enough this could have been prevented? Maybe something just failed. I dont understand why they wouldnt have a big air bag type thing under the net as well anyway... The girl was only 12, thats nuts.. I hope she will be OK.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

LAKE DELTON, Wis., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Police in Lake Delton, Wis., said they were considering operator error in a theme park ride accident that left a Florida girl comatose for four days.

An attorney for the family of 12-year-old Teagan Marti said she emerged from a four-day coma Tuesday, but was unable to move, The (Fort Lauderdale) South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.

"She has so many spinal fractures," attorney Stuart Grossman said, adding that Marti might be paralyzed.

Police said Friday's accident at Extreme World, which the Marti family visited while vacationing in Wisconsin, appeared to be accidental, but that the Sauk County District Attorney's Office will determine whether charges will be filed.

Investigators also said they were looking at "operator error by the ride attendant" in their probe.

Under Wisconsin safety codes for amusement park operations, it's the park manager's responsibility to train ride operators and test all rides each day before opening to the public. Marti crashed to the ground Friday at Extreme World's free-fall tower when the net designed to catch her failed to rise as she was lifted to the ride's top, the Florida newspaper said.

The safety net, Grossman said, is designed to rise off the ground as a rider is hoisted by the tower. When the rider reaches a height of 140 feet, the safety net should be at 40 feet, he said.

"For reasons that no one knows, when this device was at about 100 feet, the net had not gone up," he said. "It's also a design defect that would enable someone to release someone before that net goes up."

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Girl injured in Dells thrill-ride fall has surgeries
By Becky Vevea of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 9, 2010 |(2) Comments

The 12-year-old girl who fell about 100 feet to the ground on a free-fall ride in the Wisconsin Dells in late July successfully made it through two preliminary surgeries late last week and was scheduled to be in surgery Monday morning.

After an outpouring of support, the family of Teagan Marti launched a CarePage website to keep people informed on her progress, and shared the link Monday with the media.

According to the posts from Teagan's sisters, Alexandra and Taylor, on the site:

The surgeries late last week consisted of implanting a filter in Teagan's vena cava, a large vein that runs into the heart, to catch any clots from her legs or pelvis, and a procedure to repair a separation in her sacroiliac joint, which connects the bones located on the rear side of the pelvis.

Additionally, Teagan has four fractures in the pelvis, in both the lower rear and front areas that most likely will not need to be treated surgically, according to the family posts on the site. She still has a breathing tube in, but it is turned down to the point where she is breathing on her own.

Last Thursday, she was able to move slightly her toes.

Hospital officials could not be reached Monday to confirm the surgery had taken place.

Teagan, of Parkland, Fla., was dropped prematurely from the popular thrill ride Terminal Velocity at Extreme World on July 30. Lake Delton police said the cause of the accident was due to operator error.

Instead of dropping Teagan from the intended 140 feet into a net 40 feet above the ground, the ride attendant dropped Teagan prematurely, at 100 feet, while the net, attached by cables to the release platform, was still at ground level, Lake Delton police said Monday.

Normally, the ride attendant at the top is to look down at the ground, inspect the drop area for any problems and exchange arm signals with the ground attendant to indicate the release platform and landing net are at the proper height.

Police determined this was not done when Teagan was on the ride.

As of Friday, authorities had completed their investigation of the accident and referred the case to the Sauk County District Attorney's office.

A police statement released just after the accident indicated investigators believe this was a tragic accident with no intent to harm.

In a press conference last week the family's attorney, Stuart Grossman, said the family will take legal action, adding that Teagan likely will be in therapy for years.