Family says girl was shocked 'from her hand all the way to her feet' after riding roller coaster

Hope Schreiber
·Writer

The family of a 12-year-old girl says she was shocked on a roller coaster at an Indiana amusement park just two days after a 12-year-old boy died after going on the ride, due to a believed unrelated pre-existing medical condition.

According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Kris Bowers and Jessica Harris, aunts of the 12-year-old girl identified only as Sage, report that she had ridden the Hoosier Hurricane at Indiana Beach in Monticello, Ind. on June 30 with another family member. Bowers, who says the family owns a lake home nearby and have visited Indiana Beach for generations, says that she was not concerned for the girl’s safety as the 12-year-old boy's death was reportedly not caused by the coaster.

“My niece’s ride was fine until the very end,” Harris told the outlet. “When she went to lift the safety restraint, she says she felt a strong shock from her hand all the way to her feet. It was so strong, she said she felt pinned and couldn’t move her arm. Once the shock ended, she ran to her dad and was hysterical.”

Sage's father brought her to the first aid station and later took her home. Harris claims that her niece experienced difficulty breathing and pain and was later taken to the emergency room. There, an EKG and a blood test were performed, which confirmed she had suffered an electric shock.

Bowers said that young girl had a severe headache, blurred vision and muscle cramps, but as of Wednesday was feeling better.

On June 27, 12-year-old Brayden Cooper-Douglas, suffered a medical emergency after exiting the ride at Indiana Beach and later died. White County Sheriff Bill Brooks and White County Coroner Anthony Deibel told the Lafayette Journal & Courier that the boy’s death was not related to the Hoosier Hurricane.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), which regulates and inspects rides, inspected the roller coaster on June 27. During this time, Indiana Beach stopped the ride until it was cleared for use by the agency. IDHS was called back to inspect the ride on June 30. A full inspection was performed and six test rides were run, none of which reproduced any electrical effect or hazard, according to a statement from IDHS.

“This situation will be closely monitored for any future concerns,” the IDHS statement read.

Indiana Beach Director of Marketing Boo Birk released the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle on the incident:

"The safety of our guests and team members is our first priority. All our rides are inspected annually by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, third-party engineers and the park maintenance team. All rides are inspected daily as well by park personnel. After the reported incident, the Hoosier Hurricane was thoroughly examined by park maintenance personnel and inspectors from the Department of Homeland Security."

The 12-year-old girl's aunts have reached out to Brayden's family to discuss what happened to their niece.

“Our only agenda is to make people aware and try to get this problem fixed,” Bowers said.

“We couldn’t stand thinking that if another child was hurt and we hadn’t spoken up, we couldn’t live with ourselves," Harris added.

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