The 2011 "Ride of Steel" Accident | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

foreign [Music] on the 8th of July 2011 a guest riding the ride of Steel roller coaster at Darien Lake Amusement Park in the state of New York was ejected from the ride as it crested a hill the man hit his head on the roller coaster train and fell to the ground below dying from his injuries in the investigation which followed it was found that he should never have been allowed on the ride in the first place but that his decision to board the roller coaster that would ultimately kill him had not once been challenged by any member of Staff working at the park the history of the amusement park at Darien Lake goes all the way back to 1955. that was the year that a large man-made lake was opened to the public near the Town of Darien in New York state visitors could pay 50 cents to spend a day by the water picnicking and swimming it was a popular spot and as the years went by more and more attractions were introduced in the 1960s you could go boating on the lake fish for trout in a specially stocked Pond ride ponies beside the water or hire out a camping spot and spend the night in the 1970s a series of small rides and attractions were added including a petting zoo several water slides and a miniature golf course by the 1980s The Humble little swimming spot had grown into a fully fledged amusement park the first major roller coaster opened in 1982 along with multiple other flat rides further expansion in the 1990s saw an on-site Hotel a dedicated water park and a massive concert venue added to the Park's offerings by 2011 Darien Lake was firmly established as a theme park destination Superman ride of Steel later renamed to Simply the ride of Steel was just one of several large roller coasters in the park it was opened to the public in 1999 and was tall enough to qualify as a hyper coaster it featured not just a 205 foot or 65 meter drop but several airtime Hills and two helixes subjecting Riders to some incredible but thrilling g-forces during its two minute run time from the day I opened the ride was popular welcoming thousands of riders each day most of these visitors had an excellent time although there was one serious incident in the very first year of operations on the 16th of May 1999 the second day that the ride had been open to the public a guest was ejected from the roller coaster as it crested one of the smaller Hills he survived the fool but suffered multiple hernias that would cause him pain and limit his Mobility for the rest of his life it was found that because of the size of the guest the lap bar had locked in the wrong position and had thus failed to keep him secure throughout the ride Darien Lake which at the time was owned by Six Flags was ordered to pay the injured guests 3.95 million dollars and subsequently made alterations to the restraint system of the ride including the addition of a supplementary seat belt for the decade following this incident the coaster operated smoothly and without issue it wasn't until 2011 that the ride of Steel would again be in the spotlight in July 2011 Sergeant James hakima visited the park with several members of his family Sergeant hakima was a veteran of the Iraq War and in the course of his service had been seriously injured by an improvised explosive device the explosion had caused him to lose the majority of both of his legs and had put him into a coma for two months after which he'd had to relearn many basic skills including speaking and eating despite this traumatic life change Sergeant hakima remained incredibly positive having survived his ordeal he even offered advice to people in a similar position hang on you can make it it can be hard but you get out of it what you put in certainly Sergeant hakima put in a lot even after his injury he lived an active lifestyle he went to watch live sporting events ate out with his friends and family and went on bicycle rides with a specially adapted bike despite his positive outlook and extraordinary tenacity though he did note that it was difficult to adjust to his new life visiting Darien Lake Amusement Park therefore might well have been a welcome return to normality he was Keen to share a vacation with his loved ones and ride as many rides as he could Sergeant hakama his sister his two young children and a college age nephew checked into the Darion Lake hotel and made their way into the park at around 2 30 PM that day one of Sergeant hakima's First stops was a guest information booth where he asked Park staff which rides he could safely enjoy they offered him a pamphlet containing detailed information about ride safety for guests with disabilities but he declined to take it noting that he already had one the park staff then advised him on the boarding procedure for wheelchair users in the case of most rides he would be asked to enter via the exit where he could then be assisted safely onto the ride one of the first rides on the itinerary for the day was the ride of Steel as he had been instructed Sergeant hakima accompanied by his nephew entered through the exit of the ride this allowed him easy access to the boarding area but also meant that he did not have his height checked by a ride attendant to make sure he was tall enough to ride as it happened because of the loss of his legs Sergeant hakima was actually too short for the ride of Steel nonetheless he went through to the boarding area where he declined assistance from the ride staff instead allowing his nephew to help him from his wheelchair onto the right once both were seated at the very front of the Train the ride began a long climb was followed by a plunging descent several twists and turns and a series of camelback Hills as the train passed over the crest of each of these Hills Riders would experience a brief moment of weightlessness it was during one of these moments that Sergeant hakama was ejected from the Train Witnesses report that on the crest of one Hill the Hat he was wearing almost flew from his head as he instinctively reached up to secure it he was thrown from the car altogether and fell to the ground below although the alarm was raised within minutes and help was quickly on scene his injuries were not survivable in the aftermath of the incident the ride was closed and an investigation was launched mechanical defects with the ride or any of its trains were quickly ruled out and it was determined that Sergeant hakima simply should not have been allowed to board signs at the entrance and exit of the ride area noted among many other rules that all Riders were required to have two legs it is conceivable that Sergeant hakima might have missed this stipulation but why had none of the ride attendants challenged him as he boarded the roller coaster Sergeant hakima owned prosthetic limbs but was not wearing them when he boarded the ride meaning that the fact that he did not have both legs was readily apparent indeed several ride operators noticed this but took no action the report into the accident explored why this might have been the case it was noted that ride attendants had received training that covered how to determine when a person with a disability could or could not safely ride and how to approach a guest when they were not able to ride because of a disability all attendance on duty were Fit and Well could communicate clearly and had passed all necessary assessments and training courses ultimately it became apparent that although the attendance had passed their training not enough had been done to reinforce it over time ride attendants had either forgotten what they had learned or had become complacent about certain procedures failing to realize how important they were assisting a guest who was a double amputee was not something they did every day and so their recollection and understanding of the correct thing to do was Fuzzy at best an issue compounded by the fact that they were all relatively Young the oldest ride operator was 21 an age at which they might have found it difficult to confront and evict an older disabled War veteran who was confident about riding especially when their memory of the relevant rules had not been refreshed in months or years the ride remained closed until later in the month by the time it reopened several changes had been made signage had been made clearer and staff had been retrained additionally a new position had been created at the park Darien Lake now employed an auditor whose job it was to check that ride operators and other staff had not only completed their training but that they actually remembered all of the safety critical parts of it Sergeant hakima's family took legal action against the park ultimately settling for an undisclosed sum that would be sufficient to provide security for his two children throughout their lives while devastated by the loss of the man they loved family members chose to as much as possible celebrate his life rather than mourn his death they noted that when the accident took place he had been doing what he wanted to do the trip to Darien Lake had been a happy event for him a return to Carefree happiness after many years of difficult recovery speaking of the incident his sister said that minute he was on that ride he probably felt the happiest and most normal he's felt in three and a half years thank you

Channel: Fascinating Horror

Views: 1,530,027

Keywords: ASMR, ASMR Horror, Horror, True Horror, Horror Story, Horror Stories, Horror Storytelling, Storytelling, Seconds From Disaster, Strange But True, Unsolved Mystery, Ride Accident, Theme Park Accident, Worst Accidents, Creepy, Creepypasta, True Creepypasta, Creepypasta Stories, I Survived, History, Documentary, Disaster Documentary, True Story, Darien Lake, Amusement Park, Theme Park, New York, NY State, Ride of Steel, Hypercoaster, Superman Ride of Steel, Hackemer, Ejection, Fall

Id: uzywX-6kGbk

Length: 11min 5sec (665 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 08 2022