Trying to be sensitive about thrill rides

In the July 27 issue of Weekender, we’ll feature a guide to area theme parks, roller coasters and thrill rides. Considering a Louisville girl's severe injuries on a ride last month at Kentucky Kingdom, some readers might raise an eyebrow about why we’re publishing such a package. Here’s the background:

The weeks of June 11 and 18, staff writer Jamie Gumbrecht and interns Yvette Lanier and Tricia Spaulding traveled to Kings Island near Cincinnati, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville to survey the parks so that readers could have a guide to one of summer’s most popular activities: going to amusement parks. The story package was scheduled to publish Friday, June 29.

Then on June 22, a 13-year-old Louisville girl’s legs were severed while riding the Superman’s Tower of Power ride at Kentucky Kingdom. This was a ride Jamie, Yvette and Tricia had ridden just a week before.

Obviously, we pulled the story from publishing June 29. It was just too soon after such a horrible accident to draw attention to thrill rides. We thought about publishing the package in mid-July, but we decided again that it was still too soon.

But after careful consideration and reporting on the status and safety of the rides we are featuring, we will publish the package on July 27. All the parks say their rides have been inspected and have reiterated their safety, including free-fall rides like the Tower of Power. Kings Island has just this week reopened its ride called Drop Zone, which is similar to the Tower of Power but, according to that park, uses a different rider configuration. Also, the injured girl, Kaitlyn Lasitter, was discharged from the hospital in mid-July and is reportedly recovering. (Jamie, Yvette and Tricia also were confident with the perceived safety of the rides. If they had ever been uncomfortable with an attraction, we would have pulled the story package altogether.)

In short, we feel like our story package will share the joy of one of summer’s most popular activities and help readers move forward after such a terrible accident.

Scott Shive
Assistant features editor