Latest news with #rollercoaster
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Boy, 2, horrifically-injured after father took him on theme park rollercoaster ride in Uruguay
A two-year-old boy was seriously injured after his father took him on a roller coaster in Uruguay. The incident took place Saturday when the Gusano Manzana [Apple Worm] ride turned a corner at the Parque Rodó amusement park in the capital city of Montevideo. The child, whose name was not released, was sitting on the lap of his 67-year-old father before he crashed to the ground. Video footage filmed by a man accompanying his son showed the boy's father stand up from the seat and look down. The concerned father then disappears from the view of the camera before the man who was recording the ride said, 'Oh, a person fell.' The ride then came to a full stop and a woman could be heard in the background shouting, 'Stop, stop, a child fell.' Alejandro Montero, an off-duty nurse who was visiting the park with his family, was the first person who rushed to help the child and his father. 'I saw this person on the floor trying to get up, which he couldn't, and there was someone else watching him,' Montero told Teledoce television. 'I went in, approached this man, and the first thing I did was immobilize him. It was the right thing to do as a healthcare professional. It was a fall of [nine or 13 feet] and I didn't know if he had lost consciousness or not.' Both were rushed to a local hospital, where the child was treated for a fractured skull and remains hospitalized. His father suffered multiple fractures and underwent surgery. The Montevideo prosecutor's office told El Observador newspaper on Wednesday that the boy has been healing well and could be discharged in the next couple of days. The rollercoaster was suspended by the city as part of an investigation. Alex, one of the workers at Parque Rodo, told local television station Channel 10 that the boy's father was warned that the child could not sit on his lap before they took their spot on the Gusano Manzana. 'The adult is told that the child cannot be on the lap, it seems that once the ride is started, he puts the child back on the lap, without safety measures,' Alex said. He explained that the ride does not feature an emergency brake system. 'If you get in and yell at me: brake for me, I can't brake it,' he said.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Cruel bullies told me to ‘go eat another sausage roll' – now I'm 17st lighter after ditching £400-a-month addiction
A MUM shed 17 stone after realising she was too big to fit on a roller-coaster. Her weight loss secret? Ditching a £400-a-month habit. 9 9 9 Rachel Pashley weighed 30st 13lbs and was a size 32 at her heaviest. It was during a family day out to a theme park that she made the heartbreaking realisation about the impact her weight was having on her life. The 32-year-old wasn't able to take her two sons, Ethan, 13, and Jenson, 12, on a ride and had to watch them enjoy it without her. Since that day, she's managed to shrink down to 12st and a size 12, and has been to Disneyland Paris, where she was able to go on any ride she wanted to. Rachel, from Brighton, recalled: "We went to a theme park and I realised that I couldn't go on the ride, so my friend had to go on with my kids. It was sad. 'I couldn't walk up the stairs, and I was always too tired, so I'd take my kids to breakfast club and go back to bed. 'I couldn't run around after my children. We never went on bike rides, we never did anything. 'Now, we can do anything, bike rides, theme parks, days out in London, days at the gym and swimming. 'We've been to Disneyland Paris, and I didn't have to worry about getting on the rides. It was amazing. 'I was really depressed before and struggled with buying clothing, but I'm so much more confident now. 'The best part of this journey isn't the weight loss, it's getting my life back. 'I can finally be present for my boys, enjoy days out, and feel proud of the woman I've become." Rachel spent £400 a month on takeaways and said she "used to eat rubbish all day and barely move". She added: 'Someone once told me to go and eat another sausage roll. 'And online, I tried to do plus-sized fashion, and people would say I could barely breathe trying on clothes. It was horrible." After having a £12,500 gastric bypass in May 2021, she now fuels her body with "real food" and moves every day. Rachel said: "I finally feel like I'm living, not just existing." Food for comfort Rachel had always been 'curvy' and was a size 16 when Jenson was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. The semi-permanent make-up artist says the diagnosis was the 'turning point' as she turned to food for comfort. Her expensive takeaway habit came as a result of not having enough time to cook or exercise due to hospital appointments. Thankfully, Jenson has been in remission for 10 years. Rachel said, 'That period was horrendous. 'It was 18 months' worth of treatment, sitting in a hospital room and massively comfort eating. 'He went into intensive care, and that was the turning point. 'I ate absolute crap. 'It was a family-sized chocolate bar every night on the way home from the hospital. 'I'd have a full English for breakfast, a meal deal from Co-Op, chocolate and a share bag of crisps for lunch. 'We had takeaways six days a week and I never cooked. If I did, it was freezer food. 'There were a lot of kebabs and Dominoes. The delivery driver knew us. 'Now, I'm really into nutrition and cooking. 'We haven't had a takeaway at all this year and we're really proud of ourselves.' 9 9 9 9 Now, Rachel works out four times a week. She forked out another £12,000 to have an arm and breast lift in January this year and plans to complete her look with a tummy tuck in September. Rachel added: 'I remember the day when I was walking to the shop for some binge eating food because I'd had a really bad day and was at my heaviest, and I was crying my eyes out. 'I bumped into someone I used to work with, and she said she'd had weight loss surgery and it was the most amazing thing she'd ever done, so I went home and booked a consultation. 'When I was on the journey, I just wanted to get back to a size 16, but I kept going. 'I fit into a small skirt in Zara now, and it feels amazing because I never thought I'd get to this point." Now, people can't believe how much Rachel has changed. She said: 'In Aldi, I bumped into a girl I used to work with and said hello, and she completely blanked me. 'Then she messaged me asking if that was me, and she didn't recognise me. 'It feels amazing.' Rachel is sharing her story to inspire others who are struggling with their weight. She documents her weight loss journey on her social media page @racheljadepashley. 'I wanted to share my story because I know what it's like to feel completely lost in your body and stuck in a cycle that feels impossible to break. 'If someone out there sees this and realises change is possible, then that's everything.' 9 9
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Siren's Curse at Cedar Point stops 160 feet off the ground, forcing riders to walk down
Cedar Point's newest roller coaster has once again provided riders with some unexpected and unintended terror. Cedar Point guests on July 2 found themselves stuck on top of the Siren's Curse roller coaster's 160-foot-tall lift hill. But unlike riders on June 28 who found themselves dangling facing the ground, the latest incident happened before the coaster's signature tilt feature had started. Park spokesman Tony Clark said the coaster once again "experienced a delay that paused the ride's operation" and left riders sitting in the coaster cars for about an hour on Wednesday evening. "(The coaster's) safety system performed as designed, but the ride could not be restarted," he said. "Guests were safely escorted off the ride." The riders had to walk down the 160-foot-tall platform using the attraction's evacuation stairs. Wild ride: Watch Beacon Journal reporter ride Siren's Curse at Cedar Point and question life decisions In the previous instance, ride technicians were about to reset the coaster and the ride resumed after about 10 minutes. The ride's signature feature is atop the 160-foot-tall lift hill where the coaster train precariously tilts riders to the ground and track below. After the coaster connects to the track below, riders then experience some 2,966 feet of twisting track at a top speed of 58 mph. Clark said the coaster, which made its public debut on June 28, has reopened. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Siren's Curse at Cedar Point stops once again atop its 160-foot tower Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cedar Point guests on Siren's Curse roller coaster had an added scare on Saturday
Cedar Point's newest roller coaster continues to offer more thrills than advertised. The Siren's Curse once again left guests dangling atop its 160-foot-tall tilt tower. The popular ride that opened a month ago stopped mid-tilt the evening of July 19 and left passengers on the coaster train stranded at about a 45-degree angle for about 20 minutes. "The coaster's safety system performed as designed, the ride was restarted, and guests continued their ride," said park spokesman Tony Clark. "It reopened shortly after and all guests exited the ride safely." More: Check out these amusement parks – big and small – within a day's drive from Akron The ride's delay happened in the midst of its signature feature atop a 160-foot-tall lift hill where the coaster train precariously tilts riders to the ground and track below. After the coaster connects to the track below, riders then experience some 2,966 feet of twisting track at a top speed of 58 mph. This isn't the first time Siren's Curse has gotten stuck This is the third instance that sensors on the coaster have stopped the train atop the tower since its public debut on June 28. On the coaster's opening weekend, the coaster stopped with passengers dangling straight down over the midway for about 10 minutes. And on July 2, the coaster train stopped on top of the tilt hill before the tilt even started. Passengers had to be evacuated from the coaster using stairs. The Siren's Curse reopened after Saturday's incident. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Siren's Curse at Cedar Point once again leaves guests dangling in air Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Full tilt: Cedar Point's new Siren's Curse roller coaster is not for the faint of heart 🎢
The wait is over. And now the real wait is about to begin. Cedar Point's newest roller coaster made its debut June 26 for the media and a select group of coaster enthusiasts. The Siren's Curse is slated to make its public debut on June 28 after previews for season passholders on June 27. Long lines are expected on June 28 to ride what is being billed as the tallest, fastest and longest 'tilt' roller coaster in America. Anticipating the excitement for the new coaster, Dave Evans, construction manager for Cedar Point's parent company Six Flags, said they have constructed one of the largest queue lines ever at the park. See it in action 🎢: Watch Beacon Journal reporter ride Siren's Curse and question life decisions The ride has a capacity of anywhere from 900 to 1,000 guests an hour. Evans said they have built the lines to accommodate a one and a half to two-hour wait. Unlike other queue lines in the park, he said, this one will not have any in-park TVs that will distract from the theming of an abandoned Lake Erie shipyard. And guests for this coaster will wait within feet of the coaster as it screams overhead. "You are always in the ride," he said. "This is what is cool about it." With 19 roller coasters now in its lineup from big to small, Cedar Point is home to one of the largest collections of such thrill machines in the world. This one might be most unique with its tilt feature. And this dangling of passengers over the Midway, said Park Manager Colleen Murphy-Brady, is what makes this one particularly exciting for riders and those not brave enough to venture on. "This ride has a lot of spectator value," she said. "Guests are going to want to stop and watch that tilt." Akron coaster enthusiast gives coaster two hands up Akron resident Michael Burkes has been riding coasters for as long as he was tall enough to climb aboard. He's been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for some 38 years and first visited Cedar Point in 1973. Burkes, 60, recently rode his milestone 500th coaster in Wisconsin. He thought he had seen and ridden just about everything. But this latest coaster at Cedar Point is certainly one of the most unique and thrilling he's ever encountered. "I am just amazed," Burkes said. He was surprised by its speed and variety of elements − particularly the number of instances of airtime or sense of floating out of your seat. "It is fun and furious," he said. "This is an excellent addition to the park." What is the theme of the Siren's Curse? The Siren's Curse is themed after a collection of mythical sirens who reside under the water in Lake Erie and use their voices in song to lure sailors. The Siren's mournful cries along with equally eerie music play inside of the coaster cars as riders climb the hill to the fateful tilt feature of the coaster. The lift hill of the coaster − designed by the Netherlands firm Vekoma − is supposed to resemble an old 160-foot-tall Lake Erie shipping crane tower What makes the Siren's Curse special? The coaster's signature feature is a 160-foot-tall lift hill where the coaster train precariously tilts riders to the ground below. At the top, riders will encounter a broken track that trails off to nowhere. The tower's platform tilts 90 degrees straight down as the track connects to a twisted track below. The coaster train will then plunge down along 2,966 feet of twisting track at a top speed of 58 mph. In all, riders will experience 13 instances of weightless or so-called airtime moments along with two 360-degree, zero-gravity barrel rolls and a high-speed 'triple-down' element with twisted and overbanked track − all in the span of about two minutes. The coaster trains, that will hold 24 passengers, have integrated audio and LED lighting − both a first for Cedar Point. And the coaster is the first at the park to take riders underground. What to know before you ride the Siren's Curse? The new thrill machine – with its compact vertical design – is situated by the Iron Dragon coaster just off the park's Main Midway. Like any new attraction at Cedar Point, expect long lines from the time the park opens to closing time. You have to be at least 48 inches tall to ride. And riders are not allowed to bring any personal items like water bottles, wallets, keys and cell phones onto the new coaster and will be required to pass through metal detectors. Free short-term small lockers will be available for riders near the entrance to the coaster. Parkgoers with larger items like purses and backpacks will still be required to rent a locker to ride these coasters. If the ride's line is too long, you can always hang around and ride the other coasters and return shortly before closing time when the crowds have thinned out. The park's policy is to let all guests ride an attraction as long as they are in line by closing time. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Siren's Curse debuts to roller coaster enthusiasts at Cedar Point Solve the daily Crossword
