A rather unfortunately story is unfolding this weekend after a 10-year old girl passed away at the hospital after falling from a Wisdom Super Sizzler ride at the Deerfield Township Harvest Festival in New Jersey on Saturday evening. The amusement attractions at the medium-sized event run by Skelly’s Amusements and the Wisdom Industries Super Sizzler ride is essentially a clone of the classic Scrambler flat ride.
There is no vertical motion involved here, riders are seated and secured into a bench style seat and simply spun-around, with the speed and g-forces providing the physical thrill with the aid of “near-miss” visuals as you pass the riders in the nearby cars. So far nothing more has been said about the cause of the accident while it is being investigated, so this seems to indicate that this isn’t a case of mechanical failure. Historically, when accidents happen with Scrambler style rides involving children, unfortunately it is often the case of the children not staying properly seated during the ride and climbing up higher on the seat. If they get too high, possibly pulling their legs in from under the restraint to sit on their knees, you can see how a child might be thrown once they have wiggled free of the restraint.
So far I have not seen any mention in the reports on if she was riding alone or with someone who could tell us more about just what took place.