ParkInfo2Go
Blue Line

Home > News

Six Flags Amusement Park to Tear Down Ride Where Girl's Feet Were Severed

FOX News

Original Article »

November 30, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  An amusement park ride where a 13-year-old girl's feet were severed can be dismantled starting in two months, a judge ruled.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom officials hope to have another ride picked out to replace the Superman Tower of Power by the time the park, which is closed for the season, reopens in April.

The Tower of Power, in a prominent location near the park's entrance, will probably take about six weeks to take down, said Carolyn McLean, a park spokeswoman.

Kaitlyn Lasitter's feet were severed by a broken cable on the ride on June 21. Her right foot was reattached, but her left leg was amputated below the knee.

The girl's family sued Kentucky Kingdom in July, claiming the park failed to maintain the ride and ensure riders' safety. The family wanted a temporary injunction to stop the park from altering or destroying the ride or the cable.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Barry Willett, who made the ruling Thursday, ordered lawyers for the girl's family, the Department of Agriculture and Kentucky Kingdom in July to agree on which tests will be done on the cable and which company will do them.

There still hasn't been a decision made on the tests and lab, however. The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.

Larry Franklin, the attorney for the Lasitter family, did not return calls seeking comment.

The ride, which was shut down after the accident, lifts passengers 177 feet, then drops them at speeds reaching 54 mph.

Six Flags, the parent company of Kentucky Kingdom, showed a 46 percent profit drop. The company said the 2007 season started strong, but attendance at its parks nationwide fell 9 percent in July compared with the year before because of bad weather at its Texas and Georgia parks and national news coverage of the Louisville accident.



Blue Line
Company Info  |  Contact Us  |  Terms  |  Privacy  |  Links
Copyright© 2011-2023 - Burketech. All Rights Reserved.
ParkInfo2Go is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Six Flags or
any of the other Theme and Amusement Park operators featured on this site.