SMILER OPENS FOR FRIGHT NIGHT
3 months after ride’s horror crash...
ALTON Towers crash ride The Smiler is set to be back in action for Halloween, rollercoaster experts claim.
Thrill ride fanatics are vying to be the first to brave the re-opened attraction, which left four people seriously injured three months ago.
ALTON Towers’ troubled ride The Smiler could be re-opened in time for Halloween.
Engineers have been busy running test carriages on the track in view of shocked visitors in the last few days.
And dedicated fans on UK coaster forums believe park chiefs are preparing to relaunch the ride in time for their Halloween-themed Scare-fest promotion, which begins on October 17.
Photos of empty carriages running on the tracks have been posted on Twitter, where one fan wrote: “Don’t get excited but they have been testing The Smiler.”
If true, the news will be welcomed by many rollercoaster fanatics – despite the horror crash in June which left four young people seriously injured.
Leah Washington, 18, from Barnsley, and Vicky Balch, 20, from Leyland, Lancs, both had legs amputated after being crushed when their carriage slammed into another at around 20mph.
Leah’s Huddersfield University student boyfriend Joe Pugh, 18, suffered severe knee injuries while Vicky’s partner Daniel Thorpe, 28, suffered a broken leg and a collapsed lung.
Yesterday, the four were pictured together for the first time when they attended a ceremony at Sandyford Community Fire Station in Staffordshire.
They were invited to watch Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service chief Peter Dartford present awards to 25 firefighters.
Last night an Alton Towers source insisted The Smiler was only being tested as part of the ongoing investigation into the accident.
A spokesman said: “No decision has been made regarding The Smiler.”