A 7-year-old boy is currently in critical condition after reportedly falling from a rollercoaster’s carriage.
At Lightwater Valley in North Yorkshire on Thursday, patrons at the theme park reportedly witnessed a young boy hanging backward and screaming from a popular ride. He was then rushed to the hospital to be treated for head injuries, and is in “critical but stable condition.”
Lightwater Valley issued a statement in which they state they are “devastated’ by the news that the boy is in critical condition. “While the Health and Safety Executive investigation is continuing, we will support them and be guided by their advice,” they went on to add.
Details of what went wrong on the ride are not known yet.
If this were not tragic enough, this is not the first incident at this exact ride at Lightwater Valley. Almost exactly 18 years ago, in June of 2001, Gemma Savage was killed on this same ride when two of the rollercoaster’s cars collided with each other.
Linda Savage, the first victim’s mother, stated she was “devastated” to hear about the young boy and appalled that the ride was still open to the public after what happened to her daughter. “Why wasn’t the ride shut down? …It should have been shut down permanently. It’s about time the whole place was closed down.”
