A video has gone viral on TikTok, showing a young child screaming in terror as an amusement park drop tower attraction starts to rise without their seat being fully locked.
The nine-year-old was visiting Greater Gulf State Fair in Mobile, Alabama, when the incident occurred. As soon as she realized she wasn’t properly buckled into her seat, she started screaming for help. The girl was identified as Isabella Carmicheal, who was strapped into the Mega Drop ride at the fair.
Credit: aprilmomofseven
“I got on it, and I put it on myself,” said Carmicheal. “I was thinking after the ride… they thought I was buckled in because they didn’t look at the buckle.” The full video can be seen below:
My best friends took the older children to the #greatergulfstatefair2022 and I stayed home to watch all of our toddlers.The ride did stop but only because my best friend was able to scream bloody murder in order to get the attention of the ride operators who were VERY busy in the control corner goofing off. A super sweet young man soothed her and helped her calm down and pray. They lowered the ride and let her off. Filming is my oldest son. No one expected it to actually start ascending before the ride operators checked her seat! Like they are suppose to! And then a piece of my little girl broke right in that moment. NOW we know this was the same type of ride that just killed another little boy recently…his bottom belt wasn’t latched either…all I’ve gotten in response was an email “We take safety seriously here at the Greater Gulf State Fair and it is a priority. We have notified our Executive Director of this situation and will pass this information along to our Carnival company so if this happened, it won’t happen again!” IF this happened! My baby thought she was going to die literally…I’ve talked to two news stations and they are running the story but what do I do next? #traumatized#greatergulfstatefair#northamericanmidwayentertainment#takeresponsibility#negligence#thegrounds#mobilealabama#shesnotokay#replayinginmyhead#helpmeplease#makethisright#helpmehelpher#foryoupage#brokenhearted#dobetterbebetter#trustbroken#thoughtyoushouldknow
April Piper, the mother of the child, shared the video across social media, calling out the fair. The mother also stated that another rider next to her daughter helped her “calm down so that she could use her feet to kick the belt up, and she buckled herself by the time they lowered the ride back down.”
Thankfully, the ride was stopped before any drops occurred.
In the caption section of the video, the Guest shares exactly what happened at the park:
My best friends took the older children to the #greatergulfstatefair2022 and I stayed home to watch all of our toddlers.The ride did stop but only because my best friend was able to scream bloody murder in order to get the attention of the ride operators who were VERY busy in the control corner goofing off.
A super sweet young man soothed her and helped her calm down and pray. They lowered the ride and let her off. Filming is my oldest son. No one expected it to actually start ascending before the ride operators checked her seat! Like they are suppose to!
Credit: Six Flags (Unrelated)
And then a piece of my little girl broke right in that moment. NOW we know this was the same type of ride that just killed another little boy recently…his bottom belt wasn’t latched either…all I’ve gotten in response was an email “We take safety seriously here at the Greater Gulf State Fair and it is a priority. We have notified our Executive Director of this situation and will pass this information along to our Carnival company so if this happened, it won’t happen again!” I
F this happened! My baby thought she was going to die literally…I’ve talked to two news stations and they are running the story but what do I do next?
Credit: Universal (Unrelated)
This incident is shockingly reminiscent of the one that happened at ICON Park in Florida, causing the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson.
An official statement was released by the Greater Gulf State Fair in which the organization claims the child’s primary shoulder and body restraint was secured and locked, “which is required in order for the Mega Drop ride to start to operate.”
“We pride ourselves in our partnership with North American Midway Entertainment,” the statement reads. “Their safety record is unmatched and the quick correction of this incident reinforces that safety is the top priority backed by multiple checkpoints on their midway.”
1
Credit: @aprilmomofseven
