A 12-year-old boy broke both legs after falling from the high speed Remix thrill ride at Benson’s funfair in Brockwell Park. Source
Accidents
Theme parks and roller coasters are statistically very, very, very safe. Out of the millions of people who ride the thousands of rides every year, there are only a small handful of incidents. You are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident driving to an amusement park than having one at a park. The rarity of accidents is one reason why the media report them, similar to plane crashes.
Every important element of a ride is inspected on a regular basis and every ride is tested every day without passengers before it opens. A ride might not open, or a safety system might activate, if there is an imperfection. For theme parks to operate, they must obtain insurance and one stipulation is their rides are frequently inspected and signed off by a strict Health & Safety governing body. Every theme park does what they can to prevent accidents because the negative press would be bad for business.
Having said all that, theme park accidents still happen…
Monorail, Movieland Park, Lago di Garda, Veneto, Italy
Seven people, including two children, were injured when part of overhead monorail track and two carriages fell approximately 7 feet (2m) to the ground. Source
Twister, Lightwater Valley, Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, UK
A six-year-boy was airlifted to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after falling 30 feet (9m) from the Twister roller coaster. Source (w/video)
Log Flume, Castle Park, Riverside, California, USA
A family of three was thrown from the log flume ride when a pump malfunctioned, preventing the flow of water onto the track. The log descended from one of the drops and there wasn’t enough water to slow it down causing the log to overturn, ejecting the family. The mother was hospitalized in critical condition, while the father and 10-year-old son were treated for minor injuries. Source (w/video)
Water Slide, Children’s Garden, Taiping, Sichuan, China
Two adults died and 14 people, including six children, were injured after falling from the ‘world’s longest water slide’. Source
Ferris Wheel, Grote Market, Bergen, Belgium
Denis Delforge, the 38-year-old ride owner, died in a fall while dismantling his 115 foot (35m) tall Ferris Wheel at the Grote Market in Bergen, Belgium. Source
Star Flyer, Parko Paliatso, Ayia Napa, Cyprus
A 44-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son were ejected from the 180 foot (55m) tall aerial chair-swing when parts of their seat tore off, due to their chair hitting a nearby ride after reportedly going too fast on too wide an angle. The boy suffered an exposed fracture on his right leg, while his mother lacerated her left knee, broke her right hand and suffered concussion. Source
Air Race, Brighton Pier, England, UK
A teenage boy was taken to hospital after the foot-rest platform on the spinning ride broke off and hit his legs. Source
El Loco, Adventuredome, Nevada, USA
A woman, who is a double-amputee, was injured after she fell from the roller coaster in the Adventuredome at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Source
Octopus, New Saniro Dream Paradise, Veyangoda, Sri Lanka
A 13-year-old girl and her 47-year-old mother died when the car they sat in detached from its rotating arm. Source