Georgia Injury Law Blog
Teenagers Injured in Roller Coaster Crash in Augusta
Three teenagers were injured seriously enough to require a visit to the hospital, after the roller coaster they were on crashed at the Georgia Carolina State Fair in Augusta over the weekend.
The crash occurred on Saturday at around 9:30 pm. According to witnesses, they yelled out when they saw that the roller coaster were about to crash, but the operator failed to slam the brakes quickly enough causing the coaster to rear end the others. In all, four people were injured, and three of them required treatment at the hospital.The victims insist that no one at the fair bothered to check if their injuries were serious. They received no emergency care.Far from displaying any concern about the injuries, the fair operators acted quickly to shut down the roller coaster as soon as the accident occurred. Fair personnel have not yet commented about the reasons for the crash.
This wasn’t the first time that an accident like this has occurred at the Georgia Carolina State Fair. In 2006, a 13-year-old girl sustained serious head injuries when she fell off the Orbiter ride.
Amusement ride accidents are comparatively infrequent, when you consider the millions of people who visit these parks and carnivals every year. For the most part, rides go off well, and no one suffers from anything more serious than a sudden burst of adrenaline. However, as Atlanta premises liability lawyers often see, when accidents do happen, the results can be extremely serious.
Passengers can do their bit to avoid becoming one of the 10,000 people who are injured annually in these rides.
· Avoid a park that looks shabby or poorly maintained. You can usually take this to mean a sign of poorly-maintained rides
· See if there are any restrictions on passengers before boarding a ride
· Check if the ride operator is competent.
· Check the park’s safety record.
· Check the appearance of the ride. If it is rusty or dirty, avoid getting on.
· Be careful when you allow your children to board a ride
· Make sure that you follow all safety rules as informed by your ride operator.