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Kaitlyn Lasitter and her parents joined Congressional leaders in calling for federal oversight of amusement parks on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
A thrill ride at Six Flags Kentucky came unhinged and a frayed cable lassoed Kaitlyn Lasitter's feet, severing them in an instant.
"I'm still in pain, I still have trouble sleeping at night and I still toss and turn constantly," Kaitlyn said.
Eleven months after her injury, even though she was struggling to walk, Kaitlyn came to Capitol Hill. She and her parents joined Congressional leaders in calling for federal oversight of amusement parks.
"It's been a long 11 months at our house and no one could even imagine. It could have been your child, so please don't let it be," said Kaitlyn's mother Monique.
Theme parks in Virginia and Maryland have seen thrill ride malfunctions as well. Twice in 2007, rides stalled Six Flags America in Largo, stranding people on board for hours. In the 911 call, you could hear a passenger's anger as he was dangling high above ground, "The [expletive] is stuck! We're probably about 16, 30 stories in the air, stuck!"
Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey blames the accidents on a lack of federal safety inspections. He said a decades-old loophole prevents federal scrutiny of amusement parks.
"I think it would really put the fear of God into the amusement park industry all across the country, knowing that now there is a federal cop on the beat," said Congressman Markey.
Kaitlyn uses one prosthetic foot, doctors re-attached the other. As her recovery continues, she said she longed for the life she used to live. "I'm not as carefree as a 14-year-old child should be, and that really sucks. I got that taken away from me."
An investigation found Six Flags failed to follow proper maintenance of the ride, which maimed Kaitlyn Lasitter. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn has yet to return to school and dreams of the day when she will be free of physical pain.
Below is a statement from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions regarding the National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act.
May 14, 2008
Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) held a press conference today urging passage of H.R. 2320 to extend jurisdiction of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to fixed-site amusement rides. Despite the fact that the safety record of these rides has remained consistently excellent, Congressman Markey has introduced this legislation in every Congress since 1999. In the past nine years, the bill has garnered little support in Congress because it seeks to address a problem that does not exist.
The safety of our guests is our top priority. We go to great lengths to insure guest safety and our safety record is outstanding. The entire industry is saddened when a serious injury occurs. As rare as injuries are, one injury is one too many as far as we're concerned.
2005 data supports the outstanding safety record for the industry. In 2005, U.S. amusement parks and attractions hosted more than 300 million guests who safely enjoyed more than 1.8 billion rides. Based on data summarized by the National Safety Council in the Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey, 2005 Update, less than one injury occurred out of every 1 million rides taken in the United States. The chance of being seriously injured on a ride in a fixed-site park is one in 9 million.
Fundamental safety measures have been in place in the industry for decades. In addition to a thorough set of internal mechanical, electrical, design, and operational safety checks and standards, U.S. fixed-site amusement rides are subject to one or more layers of independent examination, including state and local government, insurance companies, and private safety firms.
In addition to state jurisdiction, mobile rides in this country are regulated by the CPSC. Because of this additional oversight one might expect mobile rides to have fewer injuries than fixed-site rides. However, accidents on mobile rides make up nearly half of the total injuries reported by CPSC between 1997-2004, despite ridership being lower at these attractions. This illustrates that the CPSC jurisdiction over mobile rides has had little impact on their safety record.
In 2003, Congressman Markey convened a panel of leading doctors, bio-dynamic consultants, medical experts, and ride safety specialists to study the safety record of the industry. This panel's first conclusion was that it is unlikely that a federal agency could match the effectiveness of the current system.
The park-going public should rest assured that their safety is our top priority.
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