No autopsy in death after ride
Collapse of girl, 10, will remain a mystery but appears unrelated to Magic Mountain.
An autopsy will not be performed on a 10-year-old girl who lost consciousness after taking the Revolution ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain last week, coroner’s officials said Tuesday.
The family of Jasmine Martinez of Somis objected to an autopsy because of “religious preferences,” said Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Winter said that without an autopsy, the coroner’s office could not determine a cause of death.
Jasmine died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a day after she was found unconscious. Winter said a doctor at the hospital who signed the death certificate indicated that the girl was believed to have died from natural causes.
A spokeswoman for Cedars-Sinai, citing privacy concerns, said she could not comment on the death certificate or the cause of death.
Jasmine had just finished riding the looping roller coaster Friday when she lost consciousness, according to officials at the theme park in Valencia.
She was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center around 4:45 p.m. and later transferred to Cedars-Sinai.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jasmine’s family and friends during this difficult time,” the theme park said in a statement Monday.
Theme park officials said Jasmine was breathing but unconscious when the ride ended and came into the ride station, where guests load and unload. She was treated at the scene before being airlifted. Later that day, Cal/OSHA officials determined her condition wasn’t related to the ride, so it was reopened.
“There is no evidence to suggest that this was in any way ride-related,” the park said. “We do not know if there was a preexisting condition.”
Revolution, which opened in 1976, climbs up a 113-foot hill, then swoops through slopes and a long, steep straightaway to a 90foot vertical loop.
The theme park says the thrill ride hits 55 mph as “you rocket through narrow curves, soar over peaks and plow through a tunnel.” More than 45 million guests have “safely ridden” Revolution since it opened, according to the park.
An L.A. Times analysis of more than 2,000 injury reports from 2007 through 2012 at theme parks across Southern California found that fainting, nausea and dizziness were the most common complaints.
Those symptoms were among those attributed to motion sickness, which accounted for about 18% of the reports. That was followed by back and neck pain, ranked second at 16%. Head injuries ranked third at 12%. Park visitors were more likely to get hurt or sick on older attractions, roller coasters and water slides. Parks reported an average of about 350 injuries a year total in the six-year period.