Alton Towers owner fined 5m over Smiler rollercaster crash, Alton Towers owner pleads guilty over Smiler rollercoaster crash, Alton Towers crash victim says bionic leg has transformed her life, Alton Towers Smiler crash footage released for first time, Alton Towers ride reopens despite protests, Moment of Alton Towers Smiler crash CCTV video, Alton Towers crash victim learns to walk again on prosthetic leg video, Alton Towers crash victim says amputation was a relief, Alton Towers Smiler ride victims meet 'amazing' rescuers at ceremony, Alton Towers: footage of ride seconds after crash - video, Alton Towers crash victim Leah Washington feared she would die on the Smiler. Leigh Curtis, who was sitting in a nearby bar when the accident happened, described quite an eerie feel in the aftermath of the collision. The investigation also identified areas where protocols and the training of employees should be improved. Merlin said it was "on standby to conclude settlement discussions on the outstanding claims as soon as they are ready". Alton Towers Smiler crash Thrill-seekers left with devastating injuries All 16 people were eventually freed from the carriage. Artificial limbs can cost 80,000 each and need replacing every few years. does not see the point in being angry about what happened. When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? ASHBURN, Va. (7News) A tractor-trailer carrying 8,000 gallons of fuel overturned on Route 7 in Loudoun County early Wednesday morning, causing significant traffic delays. Vicky Balch, 23, and Leah Washington, 20, were in the front seats of the Smiler ride which rammed into a stationary carriage in June 2015. Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, who were in the front row, are circled, 'We will not give up. Stock in the FTSE-100 firm dropped 3.46% to 444.3p a share. Footage of the Smiler rollercoaster seconds after the crash. Two women - Victoria Balch and Leah Washington - had. An arctic maritime airmass will sweep across the UK from Monday, Harry Potter star supports JK Rowling and wishes people would 'just listen', Evanna Lynch, who is best known for her role as Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter, has defended the author JK Rowling following her controversial comments in 2020, National Lottery results draw LIVE: Winning Lotto numbers on Saturday, March 4, Child Benefit payments to increase from next month - here are the new weekly rates and all the details. Tom Whelton, who was on the Smiler hours before the crash, said his carriage got stuck on the rollercoasters first hill. Im always aching.". Four people were seriously hurt after two carriages on the Smiler rollercoaster collided at the theme park yesterday. Ian Crabbe, Alton Towers divisional director, said in a statement: May I first say that my colleagues and I are devastated by what has happened here today, and our only priority at this time is to work with the emergency services to get the 16 people affected off the ride safely, and most importantly those who are injured are being cared for. Read about our approach to external linking. Putting names to archive photos, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, In photos: India's disappearing single-screen cinemas. I hope I get it right. One person, 23-year-old Orlando Rodriguez, died at the scene of the crash on April 2, 2022. An independent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the accident is continuing. The five seriously injured were Vicky Balch and Daniel Thorpe, from Buxton in Derbyshire, Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, from Barnsley, and Chandaben Chauhan, from Wednesbury, West Midlands. With 14 inversions, The Smiler holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster. Four ambulances and four air ambulances attended the scene among 40 emergency vehicles in total after receiving a 999 call at 2.09pm. An independent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive is ongoing. When I got the payout, it made me realise that I had to live with this disability for ever. Leah Washington and Joe Pugh were both teenagers riding the Smiler when it crashed in. Vicky is now planing her wedding to fianc Dino Manciocchi next year. My life as a wife and mum will be so different now. The accident happened on Route 7 westbound at Lakeland Drive . She has described the "stressful and depressing" journey to get compensation but is now focusing on planning her wedding. "From the outset we have engaged fully at all times to resolve all the claims as quickly as possible. I wanted to take her mind away from the case and put it in a nice place wedding prep and marriage. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. I would like to thank them for all their support over the past 2 years., We pay for your stories! The 24-year-old was told about the pay-out last week when Merlin, owners of the Staffordshire theme park, agreed to settle her claim. 'Although I've been through a lot, I wouldn't change what happened because I probably wouldn't have Dino or Vinnie. There were 'near gale' wind speeds of 46mph on day of crash - but Smiler should not run at more than 34mph. Two women who lost legs after a crash on a ride at Alton Towers are suing the park's owners, their lawyers have said. Two women were transferred to the Royal Stoke University hospital and two men were taken to hospitals in Coventry and Warwickshire. as being like something out of a "horror movie. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? The beautician wore a gorgeous floor-length plunge white gown that was altered so she could comfortably walk down the aisle whilst using her prosthetic leg. What science tells us about the afterlife. Both have been undergoing rehabilitation for their injuries. What normal 24-year-old has to think about any of that? A carriage containing 16 passengers crashed into an empty train that had stopped midway around the 14-loop ride. Alton Towers crash victim Vicky Balch ties the knot in 'emotional' wedding ceremony - Mirror Online. Its affected literally every aspect of my life. Other rides at Alton Towers were shut down. Witnesses described hearing a huge sound, like a car crash when the carriages came together on the Smiler attraction on Tuesday afternoon. The pair both feature in a new Channel 5 series, Where Theres Blame Theres A Claim, which examines compensation cases. ', The barrister, speaking for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which brought the prosecution, said: 'Engineers who came to remedy the situation, regarding the indicated block-stop, thought it was a false one reflecting a recently corrected issue and did not see the stalled train, and proceeded to re-set and re-start the ride, overriding the computer-generated block-stop.'. 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Joe Pugh, 18, a student at Huddersfield University, and his girlfriend Leah Washington were among the victims. Something went wrong, please try again later. Beautician Vicky Balch was one of 16 people injured when an empty. Opening the case, barrister Bernard Thorogood said the kinetic energy involved in the crash on June 2 2015 was equivalent to 'a family car of 1.5 tons having collided at about 90mph'. Its nothing like that. 2023 BBC. Me, Dinos mum and my best friends ended up crying. The trapped ridegoers then had to wait more than four hours to be freed from the crumpled carriage while rescue workers battled to reach them as they sat 25ft up in the air at an angle of about 45 degrees, pinned in by the mangled metal. Where There's Blame There's A Claim features Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, Don't miss any TV and showbiz news - sign up to free alerts. No amount will give me my leg back or the life I would have had.. 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Its not really a life, but it's something I'll have to live with', Leah says she is struggling with her training course because of her disability, Judge Michael Chambers QC described the accident Leah went through as a 'catastrophic failure', Alton Towers has only made interim payments to cover Leah's medical and physio bills - but the full compensation figure is still being assessed, Emergency services raced to the scene, which saw two victims lose a leg, Firefighters and emergency workers free passengers from the Smiler ride, Alton Towers victim Leah Washington shares pictures of her horror injuries as she reveals Im living in agony, Putin's thugs close in on ravaged Ukrainian city with thousands fleeing as intense fighting rages, Partygate buster Sue Gray's son 'boasting about mum on campaign trail as he tries to unseat Boris Johnson', Suella Braverman vows to stop the boats with new law to crack down on migrants using human rights laws to stay in UK, Runaway mum Constance Marten was 'groomed' by evil Nigerian sect leader, Man 'naked and covered in blood' arrested before mum found 'murdered' at home as neighbours reveal hearing screams, Rishi Sunaks new bill to end the Channel migrant crisis is crucial for the Tories, Right, Brexits done. Brave Leah Washington, 19, was Emergency services eventually rescued 16 people trapped on the rollercoaster at a 45-degree angle. Victims, many with visible scars, were at Stafford Crown Court for the two-day sentencing hearing and heard how a series of blunders led to the crash. Read about our approach to external linking. Update 26 October 2016: This report has been amended after The Tab said it had incorrectly reported the students were dressed as Smiler victims with "fake amputated legs". The court was told the victims of the Smiler crash were held at a 'very difficult angle' as the two trains on the ride 'meshed together'. Experts reckon the final figure could run into millions. The accident occurred just after 2pm and the evacuation of the ride was completed at 6.35pm, according to an Alton Towers spokeswoman. Alton Towers crash victim has collapsed lung and fractured leg Daniel Thorpe, 27, was named on social media by his father as having been in front row of Smiler ride when it collided with test. Alton Towers amputee Vicky Balch has married her fiance in an 'emotional' ceremony six years after she lost her leg in a horrific accident on the theme park's Smiler ride. Alton Towers owner fined 5m over Smiler rollercaster crash, Alton Towers owner pleads guilty over Smiler rollercoaster crash, Alton Towers crash victim says bionic leg has transformed her life, Alton Towers Smiler crash footage released for first time, Alton Towers ride reopens despite protests, Alton Towers Smiler ride crash caused by human error, theme park says, Moment of Alton Towers Smiler crash CCTV video, Alton Towers crash victim learns to walk again on prosthetic leg video, Alton Towers crash victim says amputation was a relief, Alton Towers Smiler ride victims meet 'amazing' rescuers at ceremony.