Carnival Incident Leaves Girl Traumatized, Calls for Better Safety Measures

Recently, a Nebraska girl had her scalp torn off by a carnival ride on Saturday, May 7. A simple visit to a Cinco de Mayo amusement park ended with the girl being rushed to the emergency room.

Injuries like this, and even deaths, occur at amusement parks worldwide every day. Although this incident is one of the more extreme cases, accidents at theme parks happen all the time. This is why it is important to take all precautions and safety regulations seriously while at parks and on rides.

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Gilreath from Nebraska was at a Cinco de Mayo carnival when the tragic accident happened. She had been on a ride called King's Crown when she suddenly fell off the spinning machine and got her hair tangled up.

Upon inspection, it was discovered that the ride had no belts, buckles, or harnesses, but instead had a single bar that the riders were supposed to hold onto in front of them; this shows that the park had failed to take the maximum measures required to ensure riders safety. The lack of protective equipment on the ride had resulted in the girl slipping off and onto the ground, her hair getting caught and torn.

Though before, people had thought of this as just a tragic 'freak accident,' it is neither 'freak' nor 'accident.' One, it is not some unusual and unexpected event, since mishaps happen constantly at places like this, and two, it isn't an accident, but rather a result of the park's failure to ensure customer safety.

Surveillance footage also shows that the ride operator had run away from the mechanism upon seeing that the girl was in danger and in need of immediate help. Though he could have been running to get help or running away in fear, his first response should have been to stop the ride in motion and run to the girl, not run away.

Gilreath's mother has filed charges and is campaigning for belts and buckles on amusement park rides, improved safety on all rides, and better park staff training.

Regular amusement park visitor, YeJin Hwang, a freshman at Valencia High

School, said in an interview with JSR, "After hearing of this event, I'm having second thoughts on going to amusement parks."

Being a frequent and avid park-goer and season pass carrier, she's surprised to find out that she could have ended up in the same situation as the girl on each of her many visits, though there is a disparity between the safety standards of local fairs versus those of large, corporate theme parks.

"Knowing about this incident has opened up my eyes to just how risky any park can be; even at huge and supposedly safe parks like Six Flags, you never really know if you are in safe hands."

Angela Kim, Grade 9

Valencia High School