Last Thursday, thirteen-year-old Katie Lasitter, a student at Highland Middle School of Louisville, Kentucky was just a normal girl on vacation waiting to get on a fantastic ride at Kentucky Kingdom. Kentucky Kingdom is a Six Flags theme park, and the ride she was waiting to get on was Superman’s Tower of Power. This ride brings its riders up almost two hundred feet into the air, and then drops them at a speed of about 54 mph.

During the course of Katie’s turn on the ride, a cable snapped, latching on to Katie’s legs just above her ankles and severing them at that point. This being the first injury on the Tower of Power ride, officials were quick to call for the shutdown of every version of this ride at all its parks. Dozens of Superman’s Tower of Power rides over the country were taken out of commission. Meanwhile young Katie was rushed from Louisville Kentucky to Nashville Tennessee, where she’s undergone medical procedures at Vanderbilt Hospital.

It should be noted that inspections are done on every ride at every theme park yearly. The most recent inspections for Kentucky Kingdom occurred in early April, and due to the inspections some early maintenance had been done to the ride. As of today, three other similar rides are also shut down pending investigation and clearing.

Superman’s Tower of Power has never had any issues with inspections, and as far back as the records on file state Six Flags Kentucky Kingdoms has passed its inspections for the last four years. Other rides similar to the Tower of Power mirror it’s inspection results, and have passed for many years.

What began as a mind boggling tragedy came down to simple mechanical failure after investigation, and now officials are left with the task of ensuring higher levels of safety in the future. Visitors to the park who witnessed the event, and other physical evidence is left to be investigated, however the president of the Tower of Power’s source says that the failed cable is the central issue, and that has been the finding of the investigation as well.

As for Katie, she’s awake and maintains a positive attitude, claiming a desire to make a book out of her experience. If you would like to leave a get-well message for her, you may do so at this link: Get well Katie! As of latest information attained by this reviewer, Katie is still being held in Vanderbilt Hospital, and is in stable condition. Prayers and well-wishes pour in from all over the country, and in the face of everything that has happened to her, Katie remains positive and even “bubbly” as those close to her have stated.

Technorati Tags: Severed Feet, 13 year old, Six Flags, Superman Power of Tower

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