Smiler rollercoaster crash was ‘like a 90mph car accident’

The Smiler rollercoaster crash which left five passengers with lifechanging injuries was like a 90mph car accident, a court has heard.

Alton Towers operator Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd is facing a fine of up to £10 million – and possibly more – after admitting a health and safety breach on the thrill-ride.

Vicky Balch, then 19, and Leah Washington, then 17, each of whom lost a leg in the crash in June last year, and several other people who were trapped for hours attended Stafford Crown Court yesterday for the sentencing hearing.

Prosecuting, Bernard Thorogood told the court that the passengers on the £18m rollercoaster watched with “disbelief and horror” as they realised they were going to collide with an empty carriage.

He said the kinetic energy involved in the crash on June 2 2015 was equivalent to “a family car of 1.5 tons having collided at about 90mph”.

Losses of the parent company as a result of the smash were laid bare by Merlin’s barrister Simon Antrobus, who said there had been a £14m drop in revenue overall.

He said the company had “got the message” on health and safety, having accepted it was at fault and had fallen “far short” of the standards required.

Opening the case earlier, Mr Thorogood said the test carriage had been sent around the ride but had come to rest in a valley of the track, unseen by ride staff.

The engineers had overridden a computer system which they believed had halted the ride in error – and sent a full car along to the track and into the path of the empty carriage.

“The subsequent collision was plain to see to some in the train, and I refer to those in the front row’s statements, where they speak of their disbelief and horror as they saw ahead up the track the train into which they were going to dive,” he said.

The judge is due to sentence the theme park operator today.