Alton Towers ride reopens 9 months after horror crash
HUNDREDS of thrill-seekers flocked to ride the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers yesterday as it reopened just nine months after two women each lost a leg in a horrific accident.
The decision to allow visitors on the attraction so soon was criticised by victims of last June’s crash, which saw a full carriage travelling at 50mph smash into a second, empty, vehicle.
But that did not stop people waiting for up to 90 minutes to get back on the £18 million rollercoaster yesterday – and there were cheers when it restarted at 11am.
Merlin Attractions Operations, the owner of the Staffordshire theme park, is facing a criminal prosecution over the accident, which inves- tigators have said was caused by human error.
Among the casualties was student Leah Washington, 18, who had to have her left leg amputated. Her boyfriend, Joe Pugh, 19, was left with shattered kneecaps, while dancer Vicky Balch, 20, had her right leg amputated below the knee. In all, 16 people were hurt.
Yesterday, Zach Lowe, who calls himself the Smiler Man and claims to be the ride’s biggest fan, ran to be first in the queue for its reopening. The 20-year-old, from Leeds, said he had ‘deep sympathy’ with the badly injured victims, but added: ‘When it closed, I was a bit disappointed.’ A family who rode the Smiler just hours before last year’s accident were also on the first ride of the day. Neil Charteris, 53, was joined in the second car by his daughters Laura, 22, and Charlotte, 19.
The engineer, from Cannock, Staffordshire, said: ‘It was fantastic. People were screaming and cheering as we went out. Charlotte said it was a bit scary when we first went down but I had no issues about safety.’
However, Alton Towers was criticised by Miss Balch, of Grimsargh, Lancashire, who said on Friday: ‘It’s only been nine months. It feels like money comes before the people on the ride.’
Mr Pugh, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, added: ‘I would have preferred for it to stay closed.’
Alton Towers said it had sought to learn ‘every possible lesson’ from last June’s crash and that it had made improvements to staff training.
The case against Merlin Attractions Operations over alleged breaches of health and safety law is due to be heard on April 22.