Woman catapulted from funfair ride at 60mph 'lucky to be alive'

Daily Record

6 hours ago

"When I came off my ride I hit the ride next to me. They even said if I had hit that ride differently I would be dead. There was no way of surviving."
A woman has said she is "lucky to be alive" after she was thrown into the air from a fairground ride at 60mph.
Jade Harrison has spoken about her terrifying experience in October 2019, when the metal safety bar on the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair malfunctioned. She struck another ride in mid-air and fell to the ground unconscious.
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The 27-year-old from Hull was left with a fractured jaw and a catalogue of other injuries, and experienced difficulty breathing after the incident.
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Although an annual visitor to the fair, she wasn't planning to go on any rides until her friend said she wanted to try the Airmaxx 360, known for intense spins and swinging carriages, the Mirror reports.
Jade recalled: "I wasn't planning on going on any rides. But my friend wanted to go on the Airmaxx 360. I didn't want to be left on my own."
She added: "I watched it go around and I thought no that's alright I'll go on that."
However, just 90 seconds after they set off, Jade heard a concerning clicking from her safety bar, but put it to the back of her mind after her friend said they heard the same sound. She said: "I didn't really panic."
As the carriage suddenly shifted, her fears returned: "I just remember thinking I don't like that, I don't like that," she explained. "And then it was too late. As soon as the ride started bouncing the bar just gave away."
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She was flung from the ride, hitting another ride in mid-air before dropping to the ground and losing consciousness. She recalled: "All I remember is the feeling of flipping like you do in a dream when you wake up startled.
"When I came to I was laid on the floor next to the ride but everyone was just around me and I was a bit confused. I kind of forgot where I was and what I was doing so it took me a minute to realise what had happened.
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"Then obviously I started panicking and everyone was telling me to calm down. It felt like ages for the paramedics to get there but in reality it was only about two minutes."
Jade was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary, where medics found her to have a broken jaw requiring surgery to fit metal plates. She also suffered severe nerve damage in her right thigh, which still affects her today, as well as internal bruising, facial wounds and damaged teeth, which were later repaired or removed.
She said: "I'm lucky to be alive. The most painful part was my chest. I couldn't sit up or take a deep breath. When I got home, I couldn't get out of bed without my partner's help."
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Jade stayed in hospital for four days, but was unable to work for nearly a year. Her treatment to restore her teeth continued into 2021, and said the psychological recovery took just as long.
She explained: "I was in denial in the beginning. It was hard for me to accept that it happened to me," she admitted. "I would constantly tell myself I'm not going to think about it, I'm not going to think about it. But by doing that I was just delaying pain.
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"When I think about it deeply and I think how differently it could have gone I think I'm lucky to be alive. When I came off my ride I hit the ride next to me. They even said if I had hit that ride differently I would be dead. There was no way of surviving.
"Luckily, I hit the ride the way that I did, so I hit the carriage, rather than the floor or anything else."
Following her harrowing ordeal, Jade received a five-figure compensation payment from Taylor's Funfairs, which operated the ride and admitted it was at fault. The Health and Safety Executive shelved its criminal inquiry in 2023.
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An examination of the Airmaxx 360 revealed the safety bars were "inadequate". The experience has since left Jade terrified of rides.
She said: "I would never go on a fairground ride again. I've been on the teacups with my nephew, but that's about as far as I'll go. Anything where my feet leave the ground isn't happening."
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She still lives with the effects of the incident, admitting it is a "prevalent factor" in her life. She continued: "When I look in the mirror I always notice my leg, my right thigh that is damaged. That's quite a big insecurity to me. That's the main thing that reminds me."
As she is unable to have any further surgery on her leg due to it being considered aesthetic, she faces the possibility of not getting paid time off work.
She is now calling for stricter measures to ensure similar incidents do not happen in future: "I definitely think something needs to be done to stop this happening. It just doesn't make sense."