6-Year-Old Falls From Roller Coaster In US, Suffers Traumatic Injuries

In a shocking incident, a six-year-old boy suffered severe injuries after falling from a roller coaster that was “nearly two dozen feet” above where he was found, at a theme park in Orlando, United States, as per a report in CNN. The roller coaster has since then been temporarily closed. The incident took place on August 3 at Kissimmee’s Fun Spot America’s Galaxy Spin roller coaster.

Osceola County spokesperson Mark Pino told CNN, “Units arrived to find a 6-year-old with traumatic injuries under the roller coaster track, which was approximately 20 feet above.” He added that he was transported to a hospital and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is investigating the incident.

State officials conducted a preliminary examination of Galaxy Spin, which, according to the theme park, “found it to be in normal operating condition with no mechanical issues”. The theme park also stated that it wouldn’t reopen the ride until its management was confident that such an incident wouldn’t happen again. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the child and their family, and we pray for a speedy recovery. The safety of our guests is our number one priority,” the park said.

The website for Fun Spot describes the Galaxy Spin roller coaster as a “wild mouse style type coaster” that “produces heavy G forces” when passengers round the ride’s narrow turns. The roller coaster requires riders to be at least 48 inches tall or 42 inches if they are accompanied by an adult. According to the Roller Coaster database, the Galaxy Spin reaches a total height of 42.7 feet and its cars move across the track at about 29.1 metres per hour. The average duration of the ride is one minute and 30 seconds, with a G-Force of roughly 2.5.