In case you haven’t read, a thirteen year old girl visiting the Six Flags amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky had her feet severed by a ride yesterday. While on the Superman Tower of Power — which drops passengers 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping 20 feet above the pavement — a cord became wrapped around her feet, amputating them just below the ankle. Both feet were recovered and sent to the hospital along with her following the accident. The teenager has since undergone surgery, but no information has been released about what the surgery entailed or how she is recovering.
Upon reading this story, I was reminded of two things: A family friend who dated the owner of a huge amusement park on the East Cost, who told me that he divulged information about the park’s insurance plan, and that his premium was calculated by assuming two deaths per year would occur on his property. Pretty fucked up, right? The second thing that came to mind was how this story reminded of something one might hear about a trip to Action Park. If you’ve never read anything about Action Park, or visited before its closing in 1996…holy shit. Here are some of the wonderful attractions you could partake in if you ventured into Vernon Township between ’78 and ’96. My family took me to a lot of local amusement parks when I was growing up in New Jersey, but I don’t remember a damn thing about any of them. That’s not true, I have a very distinct memory of crying at Sesame Place, and riding a roller coaster shaped like a worm. These trips were when I was way too young to know what was going on around me. We have tons of family videos of all these trips, I’ll have to ask someone to dig through them for evidence of Action Park adventures.
Alpine Slides – Also known as “Death Express.” Tracks were constructed with concrete and fiberglass, which led to numerous serious abrasions on riders who took even mild spills. The sleds operated at two speeds, “extremely slow” and “death awaits”, thanks to often inoperable brakes. The first fatality occurred on the alpine slide, when an employee suffered a head injury. Between 1984 and 1985, the ride produced 14 fractures and 26 head injuries. According to one person, “At the top of the lift, the pothead teenagers working at Action Park would show you graphic pictures of Alpine Slide victims missing entire sections of their stomachs.”
Tidal Wave Pool – Two deaths occurred here, and countless persons were saved from drowning. It was nicknamed “The Grave Pool.” It required 12 lifeguards at all time, and on high-traffic weekends they were known to rescue as many as 30 people.
Tarzan Swing – A steel arch hanging from a cable over a spring-fed pool allowed patrons to hang from it and swing out over the water, then jump off. People would hold on too long and destroy toes on the far-side concrete. The water was excruciatingly cold, in 1984 a man died from a heart attack after experiencing the swing.
Looping Water Slide – It was rarely in operation. It featured a complete vertical loop. The pool at the end was “a rubber-lined hole dug into the ground.” It was open for one month in ’85 before it was ordered closed by the state. “There were too many bloody noses and back injuries,” claimed one park employee. It as also rumored that test dummies used in simulations were dismembered. After opening for a month in ’95 the ride closed following two drownings.
…And Here’s a home video from Action Park filmed in ’94
Photo/Story credits:
Gregg Gethard (is that a fake name?)
James Brief
Wikipedia
– Ian e-mailed me the trailer for Such Hawks, Such Hounds this morning, and it looks fantastic. Sure there’s a laughable amount of nerds being interviewed, and check out all that facial hair! …Still, it looks like it’s going to be a really interesting documentary. I have no idea when it will be released (my MySpace sleuthing skills are awful), but for now we have a very high quality short edit to enjoy! Such Hawks, Such Hounds (137MB Trailer)
