Unable to hang on very well? A lot of these rides the bar comes across the legs. Being amputated at the hip on one leg and below the knee on the other, was there too little for the bar to clamp down onto?
Posted on 07/09/2011 10:38:50 PM PDT by Immerito
A U.S. Army veteran who lost his legs while deployed in Iraq died after he was thrown from a 200-foot-tall roller coaster at an upstate theme park on Friday.
James Thomas Hackemer, 29, was ejected from the Ride of Steel roller coaster at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester, at about 5:30 p.m., the Genesee County sheriff's office said.
The park confirmed a guest "came out of the Ride of Steel roller coaster" and said it was "saddened to report that the guest has passed."
Hackemer, of Gowanda, lost his right leg below his knee and his left leg at his hip because of a roadside bomb while he was deployed in 2008, authorities said. He had been living with his parents.
"It's going to help a little bit that he was happy," his mother, Nancy Hackemer, told The Buffalo News. "We shouldn't have had him for these last three years and four months."
She said the family had recently returned from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C., where her son got "a new set of legs."
"He was assisted onto the ride," she said. "He was doing what he wanted to do."
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Wow, talk about being jinxed.
Unable to hang on very well? A lot of these rides the bar comes across the legs. Being amputated at the hip on one leg and below the knee on the other, was there too little for the bar to clamp down onto?
Almost like a "Final Destination" movie.
It’s possible (nothing here constitutes engineering advice) that the ride was designed for people with normal centers of gravity (i.e. you can’t fall out even without the restraints). An amputee’s center of gravity would be higher than normal. Perhaps he should not have been allowed on the ride for this reason, or special safety restraints (similar to those used by construction workers) installed to allow amputees to ride safely.
Pretty steep. I would think with very little for the bar to come down over, that toppling forward would be hard to prevent.
“Almost like a “Final Destination” movie. “
Yes, I thought that too. I’m not into “horror” movies, I guess those aren’t really horror, but I thought that was a clever idea. I’d like to watch the first one I think.
But I can’t watch it anytime soon because hubby’s going away for 2 weeks, so I’ll be sleeping with the lights on anyway!
Sorry, I should also have said rest in peace for this unfortunate man.
Doesn't look like it in this picture of the roller coaster in question.
The way the deaths occur definitely fit in the horror movie category.
The first one is the best.
I can’t believe they let him on this ride.
not much for 1 leg nub to hold onto there. not surprising from the look of it. can’t believe he got on there
I agree. There's going to be some serious money changing hands.
RIP
Crazy to survive Afghanistan, only to die on a roller coaster.
I think you hit the nail. The clamping bar is usually below your navel. A double amputee has much smaller mass below navel than a normal person. This soldier should never have risked that kind of ride.
one of the comments under the article:
I am an amputee. In rehabilitation at Reid AMC and Beaumont Army Hospital we were given stucture of a lot of, if you will, “do’s and don’ts.” Fast moving rollercoasters was on the list.
LTC Rattus, USA, ret.
All the force holding you into the ride is across the upper thighs. I can't believe he got on it with prosthetic legs. That's a damn tragedy and some insanely poor judgment on the part of those who let him on it.
RIP, soldier. You deserved better than this, happy or not.
I will think of him now, every time I ride it... Every ride will be dedicated to his memory and service.
If that’s the right picture, those restraints are made to work with legs. If you don’t have legs, they won’t really hold you into the ride. They expect people to have knees that only bend one way.
The ride operators should have known that. The park should have had that in the training, and since he must have been wheeled up to the ride, they would have known they were dealing with a special case.
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