Aussie woman hospitalised after simple mistake on theme park ride
The 22-year-old was heard crying out in pain before the ride came to a stop.
A simple mistake on a theme park ride landed one woman in hospital with the 22-year-old saying she's lucky her foot is "still in one piece".
Pippa Sutherland, 22, was visiting the Gold Coast with her friend last month, and while strapped into her seat on the Surfer's Paradise Slingshot, her foot became lodged after tucking her bare feet behind her.
A video of the ordeal was shared on TikTok by Pippa, from Melbourne, who explained her foot was forced into an unnatural position at the end of the ride, leaving her crying out in pain. Video footage shows Pippa and her friend chatting as the ride comes to a stop, but without warning, her left foot gets stuck between the carriage and a pole.
At first, it appears as though the 22-year-old was resting her bare foot on the pole, used as a stopper, but a second video shows she'd actually tucked her feet behind her, causing it to get stuck.
"It wasn’t resting there, it got caught because we weren’t told to keep our legs out on the way down," she explained in the video on social media, responding to suggestions that she'd put her foot on the pole on purpose.
"Ow my foot, my foot," Pippa can be heard in the video. "Oh no! Her foot," another friend can be heard shouting. Pippa said she "definitely would’ve moved it if I could" and admitted she was "terrified".
The initial video, shared last month, has garnered over four million views, and starts with Pippa being wheeled around a hospital. She later revealed she was "lucky" to have only had sprained toes, considering her foot had bent in half.
A follow-up racked up more than five million views and shows the incident in full, capturing how it happened. "There was a harness holding our legs down so our legs weren’t flopping around during the ride," she further explained.
Yahoo News Australia contacted Slingshot Surfer's Paradise for comment. The safety guidelines on the website does not state whether shoes are necessary while riding, or if a rider's legs should be out in front of them, or tucked behind them when descending.
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