Credit: Experiences by NickelodeonA New York family is suing a popular theme park after a roller coaster accident left their young daughter’s face seriously injured.
Theme park accidents are incredibly rare, but it feels like we’ve been talking about them a lot lately. From serious cases – such as the Guest tragically killed by a roller coaster derailing at Sweden’s Gröna Lund – to minor incidents, such as the child struck (but fortunately not injured) by a loose piece of material on a coaster at Dollywood, the news has been full of strange and scary stories from popular Parks.
Related: Woman Suffers Significant Facial Injuries In Horrific Theme Park Accident
Sometimes, it’s very clear-cut who’s at fault for a theme park accident. Derailings, for example, remove the blame entirely from a theme park Guest. Other times, it’s the behavior of an attraction’s rider that leads to tragedy – such as the famous incident at Disneyland in the 1960s when a Guest stood up while riding the Matterhorn.
But other times, it’s a little bit more unclear why or how an accident occurred. That’s the case in an incident last year at American Dream’s Nickelodeon Universe, which led to a young girl being hospitalized.
According to court papers filed by the girl’s parents (who don’t wish to name her or state her age) in the Superior Court of Bergen County on June 25, 2022, they boarded Nickelodeon Slime Streak, a steel family roller coaster primarily targeted at children that reaches speeds of up to 35 mph and heights of 70 feet.
“The cars suddenly and unexpectedly jerked with great force,” the papers read. “[The young Guest] was violently thrown forward, striking her face on the hard plastic of the car in which she was riding.”
When the ride finished, the girl reportedly realized that her top front teeth had broken off after hitting her face. She also had injuries to her lips, bottom teeth, and gums.
Related: Child Injured After Being Hit in the Face By Flying Cellphone on Roller Coaster
“Her siblings were extremely distressed to see their younger sister injured and dismayed at seeing the two broken teeth in [her] hand after the accident.”
The girl was apparently checked by emergency medical workers at American Dream before being placed in a neck brace and transported in a wheelchair to an ambulance. She was then taken to the hospital and has since undergone several orthodontic and other medical procedures to “repair her teeth and to address the additional damages to her face.”
As well as American Dream, the family is several unnamed theme park workers – claiming they failed to inform Guests about the ride’s risks – and the ride’s manufacturer, Chance Rides.
American Dream Meadowlands megamall first opened in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2019. This isn’t the only incident to occur at its extensive entertainment facilities. The mall is also home to the DreamWorks Water Park, where four were injured in February when a decorative helicopter fell from the sky into the pool. A man also filed a lawsuit against American Dream in June, claiming that he broke his leg due to insufficient water in the pool while coming down a water slide.
A spokesperson for American Dream declined to comment on the latest lawsuit, stating to NJ.com that they do not discuss pending litigation.
Have you ever received an injury at a theme park? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments!