The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:26 PM
Wave Rider Attraction Permantely Closed After Injury To Child Saturday
The girl was taken to UT Medical Center Saturday as a result of the incident.
"Everyone just yelled stop the ride, stop the ride, stop the ride. The mom...she was just saying let me in, let me in, let me in," witness Sarah Fowler recalled.
She said she watched as a mother scrambled to reach a young girl who had been thrown from the new ride.
"When it went all the way up, the momentum, her door came open, and so I’m guessing her feet went underneath and she flew off the ride and hit her spine. " Fowler said the girl then fell face first onto the concrete, rolled herself over, and started communicating with witnesses who rushed to help.
The Wave Rider was inspected and approved on June 13. The ride was open for just over a month and, according to state officials who ordered the inspection, the ride met industry standards when it began operating.
