"His head split open when it hit the ground with such force that his brains landed on her shoe." That's... unbelievably nightmarish. To see that happen to your own child right in front of you. Oh man that's rough.
@@nakaylapeterson310 I won't try to make that sound better you'll probably have after effects for a long time, but don't let it define you. talk to the right people and you'll get everything moving forward again eventually. I wish you luck and I am sorry for what happened
the fact that an error alert went off right before the ride went up into the air and yet the ride was still allowed to function....there is absolutely fault against paramount park for his death.
@@sersastarkidk man if i see any lights start flickering or a warning i’m calling someone idc if i hold the ride up. that’s is so insane how it wouldn’t freak someone out enough to not know WHY and have someone come see if they don’t understand.
This has to be the ultimate nightmare story in amusement park accident history, dear lord. I can’t imagine the trauma that mother experienced for her remaining years, poor woman.
This one and the one with the little boy on the water slide that got decapitated right in front of his brother & family at the end of the slide waiting for him. That stuck with me.
@@chancebush9139 Yeah. That was the son of Kansas State Rep. Scott Schwab, and was a devastating story here in the "We build airplanes so you don't ever have to spend time in the state again State". The worse part is that part of the reason the ride was allowed to be designed by amateurs when no professional engineer would sign off on the Verruckt design is because the Kansas legislature allowed a lack of rigorous regulation and allowed self-inspection for the park.
It was horrible. It was my 11th birthday and my friend and I were eating ice cream before going on the ride and saw it happen. I feel so bad for his family.
I grew up going to Great America, and was told the story of Joshua as a child so I was never allowed by my family to ride drop zone. Everyone knows his shoulder bar opened during the drop, everyone knows we can’t manually open the bars from our buckled seats, we all know he was not buckled in correctly and it’s disgusting that his family was not given justice and the park wasn’t held responsible.
@@kuramayoko23 Uh, letting someone on the ride who is not supposed to be on the ride is absolutely the responsibility of the park. What is wrong with you?
@@kuramayoko23 I’m confused. Where did it say he had anything that disqualified him from riding? Are you conflating this kid with that Tyree kid? In this video the claim is the kid had nothing that would have been a safety issue on the ride. If I’m wrong, please fill me in.
“We’ve investigated ourselves and found we’ve done nothing wrong” I feel terrible for his mother. I couldn’t imagine witnessing your child’s death because of the park’s negligence.
I totally agree. I don’t know how ppl live after the loss of a child bc I’d off myself 100%. My heart goes out to Joshuas mom and family but the mother had his brains on her feet. Whole crap.
@@brooklynbarbie6855 Just picturing it happening to Joshua made me dizzy. I can't even comprehend that happening it's just too much. I think I would literally just die.
Completely agree. I know without a doubt I’d just off myself as terrible as that sounds. My brain couldn’t handle that happening to my son. I’m so heartbroken for her and him.
I know.. I’m glad she didn’t get there though because otherwise both of them would have died. It’s 200 feet in the air, so falling from that high would have crushed the mother and the son. 💔💔
@@mark675exactly it sounds horrible probably would have been better if she did, how do you ever live with something like this? How can she even go about day to day activities i can’t imagine.
I would have given up my life for the boy I feel so bad for the mother she tried to save her son but failed because of just one minor malfunction that's honestly heart breaking
My husband has lifelong ptsd from this happening to him on the drop zone ride. The safety harness flew up when he was at the top. He almost slid out of his seat and fell to the ground, but was able to somehow wiggle his butt back up into the seat, and luckily grabbed the harness and pulled it down in one shot and held onto dear life during the fall. It’s insane that this shit happens. I’m not sure how these rides even make it to the building stage with design flaws like this. I can’t imagine the fear my guy and this boy must’ve felt. My heart goes out to him and his mom & family 💔
Tell him the exact same thing happened with me and my son back in 2018, I slipped out and the harness shot upward at the peak of the climb heading into the fall. My son went to grab me and I heard him scream "Daddy your bar!!!" I slapped his hands away and told him to stop because I was scared that maybe my restraint was connected to his somehow and his would release as well, or him moving around would cause his to come unlocked too(stupid logic but I was thinking literal worst case scenario) I grabbed onto the harness with my right hand, which was sweaty and wet. I just held on as tight as I could. When the brakes released for the fall, I looked over at my son and could see the absolute terror on his face. I knew I was in a bad situation and I was straight mortified, I honestly thought that my life was over. I remember very vividly that I kept thinking I don't want my son to see me fall out and die. "Just look up!!" I remember saying something like " I'm not scared son, but I want you to look up at the sky!!" The first 10 seconds were so iffy that I was praying and cursing at the same time due to not having a good hold onto the harness. I was able to scoot up a bit in my seat and wrap my right arm over the harness just a bit using the gravity from the start of the fall. I have not, and will not, ride the DZ ever again. I have jumped from helicopters before and felt safer.
@@Moonstone-Redux People "Allmost" fall from these rides all the time, especially the round one that is designed in a circle shape. I'm a normal sized dude, 6'2 165 lbs. I was riding the DZ one day at kings island right after leaving the water park. I was wet and slippery and the locking mechanism on the seat I was in was broken and did not clamp down correctly. I was too concerned with my son and making sure he was okay, he was a few inches under the height limit and they let him ride with me anyways. I honestly did not want him getting on the ride but he was pumped from were it was his first year being tall enough for most of the rides.
@@HardWhereHero that's so scary, seems like its happened to a lot of people, they need the shut down this ride before someone else dies on it. I mean it should've been shut down after what happened to Joshua
Tyre Sampson shot never have been on that ride. He was 100 lbs over the weight limit. He had been turned away from other rides that day. Funny how his family called a lawyer and the media before they even called a funeral home.
So gut wrenching!! When she said she ran for the exit gate because she thought she could catch him, my heart breaks for her! As a mum I can't even begin to imagine what this woman goes through everyday since this horrific accident. To say i hope you find peace one day doesn't seem right, how could you after seeing that happen. My hopes and prayers are always with you, I'm so sorry for your loss!
The person talking about seeing the boy struggle to hold on before he fell stuck with me. Seeing someone in their last moments like that must be haunting.
It is.... Especially when the out cone is horrifying, I've seen a drunk man stumbled into a group of teen around 2am in front of our apt window i was helping my mom bring 8b stuff from our night at the drive in , idk what was said but he pulled a gun and i was behind him about 10ft and he yelled I'ma blow them out! And blew his own head off, i remember his pony tail whipping around and than his body dropping i remember the inside of his head and being able to see the top of his eyeball. I was 8. It's something else
@@arizonalady7569 I think the first time we see someone die is a really humbling experience. It's one of the key points in life where we suddenly realize how valuable life is, still, we're never the same after it.
@@shadowmaster452 humbling? These two events are just brutally traumatic to witness. Jarring, morbid, horrifying, close to as dark as anything you could witness, sure. I don't see how its humbling tbh
@@rockyevans1584 humbling in the sense that sometimes we think we're immortal or don't value life as much as we should, we kinda forget that death exists sometimes, so events like that really make us step outside the bubble and remember to take care of ourselves and spend as much time with others as we can.
@@rockyevans1584 he means that feel of invincible leaves you. They you realize wait a minute I'm going to die someday. After my father passed away in 19 I really started trying to take care of myself eat right workout etc etc. It's going to happen but I want it to be peacefully surrounded by loved ones like them then blowing my brains out having a heart attack alone or falling to my death because of some broken POS ride
It’s so sad. My mom’s best friend’s son died in June and he was only 22… it’s very unfortunate. She is only still going on because she has her daughter to be strong for.
As a parent my heart really aches for that woman. Seeing a person hit concrete head-first at 60mph would be *unbelievably* graphic and scar you mentally for life by itself, let alone that person being your actual child. She’s probably relived that scene in her mind endlessly. That fact the park was cleared of any wrong doing is a disgrace - it’s very clear the park owners had some sort of power or leverage with the local authorities to get away with something this horrific.
@@jackiepowell7513 I know people in higher places. It’s almost if not impossible to slide out of one of those harnesses if its properly locked. If you’ve ever ridden a ride like that then you know that the bars lock at certain intervals and if you suck in your stomach and pull down you can lock yourself in very tight. Or you can not pull down far enough and the same bars will be loose. The ride operator is responsible for making sure it’s tight but I’ve had to pull my on bar down further before. In this case it’s obvious that the bar was never pulled tight enough. If it was the little boy could not have fallen. Plus how can you say that a park that lets a 14 year old operate a ride is not negligent?
@@jackiepowell7513 retribution is coming fast and it is definitely going to be a power of such unfathomably horrifying proportions that all who see it will be immediately and extremely and permanently traumatised
I was actually at the park that day, people were walking away from the drop zone talking to people and I vaguely remember hearing from someone saying, "DON'T GO TOWARDS THE DROP ZONE! A KID DIED THERE!" and I remember me and my parents being like, "naaaaaaaah just one of those rumors probably an injury or something people like to overreact." didn't see the body but definitely saw the ambulances there from a distance. It's crazy when you go to a park the same day someone is part of an accident at the park.
One of my brother's best friends Matthew happened to be at Great America that day as well. He was only 9 when it happened. A few years later I went to Great America with my brother and Matthew. Although he saw none of the incident, from then on he refused to go on any of the thrill rides except Grizzly since it didn't go upside down. I love roller coasters and have been on Drop Zone numerous times although the last one was probably 13 years ago. I doubt I'll ever ride it again after seeing this though. Ironically, that day I went with Matthew, I ditched them and went on Drop Zone like 5 times by myself while my brother and Matthew kept riding Grizzly which is right next door.
I was at a resort recently and a kid almost drowned in the pool (they did cpr). The pool closed for like 30mine while police and ambulance were there. I saw the kid and parents with them. Pool opens and I felt weird like that couple lives almost completely changed and here it is all packed like nothing happened. How bizarre.
I was there that day and saw him fall 😢 I wanted to go on the ride after the ride we were queuing for so I was watching it. I remember it vividly and gave a witness statement to police by email later. Horrific and never forgotten the poor family.
I witnessed a boy drowning when I was 10 and it still haunts me 50 years later. I can’t even begin to imagine how his grandmother went on with life after seeing her grandson die such a horrifying death. Heartbreaking.
My mom died in my arms in may tried cpr on her nothing worked ptsd is real we need to find groups to cope and learn from each other and ourself and professionals I hope you get the help you need or you will be lost I know I am but I’m getting the help
The park owners are trash when they tried to blame Joshua for his own death. Absolutely heartbreaking but completely preventable tragedy. It is sickening that the park owners got away without any sort of accountability
Nowadays big companies do not held responsibility for anything this includes doctors too/health services wise mom words "You are on your own world in any service you are provided even if it could cost your life, no one will be in that world with you to protect or care for you and no one will held responsibility nor share sympathy" This happened to my mother on a hiking tourist trip when young the cliff path had some wooden fence that broke and she ended up falling breaking her ankle the tourist company wasn't responsible for her fall and no one help her to carry her she had to lift up herself and the company just called for ambulance and thats it, meanwhile she was crying and suffering for a broken ankle bone, big bill she had to pay for medical expenses, of course no responsibility for the poor maintance safety"
"Well you see, your dumb child somehow unlocked the lever himself and simply swan dived to his death on his own! Why should we be blamed for something we didn't make our child slaves check? Please forgive us and come back next year! There'll be one extra strap on the ride in his memory, hope that makes you feel better!"
The mom very well may be holding on solely because she has another child/children to be a mother to. I’m sure it’s a feeling and experience that I cannot imagine and that I would not wish upon anyone.
I can’t imagine what his mother goes through everyday. Not only having to watch it all happen a few feet away and not being able to save your baby…but also to not have any justice served at all. Heartbreaking.
Honestly, he probably just assures himself he did nothing wrong and the boy did it to himself. I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying that's probably how that dude copes.
@@AbraCaStabra probably not, most people involved in accidental deaths end up blaming themselves :( It would be much better if he *could* convince himself he did nothing wrong, would be healthier for himself and everyone around him in his life. And before someone goes "um but it was his fault" 14yo should not be allowed nor expected to operate heavy machinery with the capacity to kill, this is the fault of park management. Now I'm sure some 14yo could handle it but not most of them, you could hardly trust half of all adults to do it, so why would you put it into the hands of a kid who doesn't have the life experience to know about death and loss?
@@cameronabshire1195 The operator was 14, but the one that strapped the boy in was 16. Still a kid too, but worth pointing out as 16 year olds regularly get jobs for operating heavy machinery. It surely is infuriating that it happened, but for damages to be granted you need "more". This is probably also why the judge denied the damages, Paramount's decision to employ children isn't unheard of, it still isn't as of today. 'Freak' accidents, and I'm referring to the legal term not the slang term, are distinctly different from gross neglect or criminal intent.
@@cameronabshire1195 Hi. Do you know what the word cope means? What you described is not coping. I said "that's probably how he copes." If he's not coping, then yeah, he probably lets that shit eat away at him. There's really only three options: 1. Cope (absolve yourself of any responsibility). 2. Blame yourself and let it eat away at you for the rest of your life. 3. Accept your share of the blame (if there is any) and move on.
As a mother of a son, this is truly horrific and my heart broke for her when she said “she ran thinking she could catch him". I can only imagine her brain was probably not able to process what was happening and even after the fact, was in shock and couldn’t understand. I would’ve went crazy on everyone. They’d have to kill me too.
You are right Leila. Nobody could process what was happening if it was their child. I'm in shock just hearing this so I can't imagine what it would be like to have that happen to someone.
When we gained true sentience, we became more brains than bodies. It's terrible that you can outlive your brain. A brain in a jar is more human that a body without a brain. This is part of why I think autistic people are so creepy and terrible. Like, I look into their oddly-spaced eyes and wonder what the fuck they are, and why we let them have this existence. Goes double if they're fat as fuck, too, which most of them are.
Being someone with PTSD i literally don't see how it's possible to deal with trauma like this, i feel for this mom and i hope that she got help after the incident
I thank God all the time that this never happened to me. I was a ride operator at a Six Flags park from 16-17 years old. Most of my coworkers were my age. There were some days/times where everyone operating the ride was under the age of 18. We were trained to check seat belts and harnesses 2x, one person on each side of the train. We also knew how to stop the ride in case of an emergency and when to tell people they couldn't ride. You had to be at least 48 in tall and able to strap the seatbelt AND lower the lapbar into the locked position. We even had seatbelt extenders to make sure more people could enjoy the ride. However, if you didn't meet those requirements, you couldn't ride. That's about all of the training we had. I turned so many children and adults away, but I KNOW others would let people slide because they didn't want to "hurt anyone's feelings" 🤦🏾♀️
Luckily although often horrific, these incidents are extremely rare. People are far more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the park than on a ride.
Thank you for doing your job and turning people away! I can imagine it can be anxiety inducing bc some people will react rather upset, but I know everyone would rather not ride a ride then die bc it wasn't safe for them, at least I know I would. I would thank anyone who turned me away tbh
I feel bad for Joshua’s parents the most, but I can’t imagine how the 14 year old ride operators feel. They probably won’t forget the incident in their lives and never forgive themselves
Honestly kind of upset with their parents. My mom would NEVER let me have that kind of job that young. I worked on a farm at that age with equipment that wasn't big tractors, just hay barrels and rakes (mostly removing poop from pens). If you're gonna force a child into labor that young, make it an age appropriate job. This was just ridiculous.
@@ellendaniels8715 I don't know about this particular case, but lots of teens get jobs _because_ their parents don't care or take good care of them. Just sayin
My son and I got on a ride called blast off. The seat clicked open. For a split second, I thought the ride was going to shoot upward. We started screaming and the employee came over and locked out seats. Needless to say, that was not fun because I didn't know if it would open again. A ride I used to enjoy... I won't ever ride it again. It legit freaked me out.
Don’t worry, it was probably that the operator unlocked every seat for an issue, or something like that. An average drop/launched drop tower would never be launching you without have your seat locked (a drop tower would immediately stop climbing up, and then come down very slowly, and a launched drop tower would never launch, it’s programmed).
One employee forgot to buckle me in so I had to hurry and get his attention before he started the ride, I might not be here if I didn't say anything. Scary how close that was.
That's why I don't get on rollercoasters anymore. I was never really fond of amusement parks anyway. People move too quick these days to check things out. And I can't take risk at an amusement park.
The scariest thing was that I was on this ride last year, and as I clicked my seatbelt in, it didn’t go in all the way. Luckily an operator fixed this, but if they didn’t and continued on, I would’ve died in that same spot. It’s really disturbing to think about what would’ve been the alternative outcome. After watching this video, I’ve realized how lucky I was.
I had the same thing happened to me my very first time riding Drop Zone when I was a 5th grader! A (I hate to bodyshame, but) very fat adult woman had sat in the same seat before I did and may have broken the harness. Because when I sat in it, it wouldn't stay down. I was aware of this incident and was thinking about the boy who died the whole time. And I remember saying "Hello! Please check me! Um, I don't want to die..." And I swear, I was one of the last people they checked before sending them up. And within 20 seconds of trying to get my bar and belt to stay, they said "sorry, we need you to get up and take the next ride, your seat is broken" and I remember they put a big red out of order band on the seat. And then I had to wait for the next ride. Thus I couldn't ride with my family. But I remember some very kind older men saw me all by myself and walking back to the line and noticed I looked sad, so they consoled me, gave me some smiles, and reassured me that I'd be okay on the next one, which I was. I have since been on Drop Zone numerous times since then. But the last one was like 13 years ago. I will never ride it again after watching this though.
i used to work on that ride. We're trained to visually and physically check each seatbelt, and they will be visually checked again by the other floor op. The seatbelt is also more of a measuring tool than anything, if it doesn't reach the rider is too large to safely fit on the ride. It does act as a redundancy too, though, in the extremely unlikely case the restraint failed.
I went on the tower of terror at Disney in the mid 2000s & when it dropped I noticed I wasn't fully locked in, causing me to start floating up when I stopped. I held on to keep myself in that seat.
I cried too. There's no excuse that engineers at parks cannot troubleshoot for dangers in their ride construction. I grew up loving rollercoasters at Cedar Point. Now as a mother and hearing these stories pop up every few years- I just cannot imagine this mother's pain. The sheer horror of it! I wish my kid were home from school already so I could hold her.
All I could think about was my mom who would often watch me go on rides as a kid as she got motion sickness. Oh my godddd that would be so devastating. I’ve heard other stories where kids or someone else slipped out and their parent was left to finish the ride, how awful.
My son fell out a 2nd floor window when he was 2½ and even though he survived (no long term issues with him, we are so blessed) I will never forget the sight of seeing him laying on the garden floor. The image haunts me and comes to my mind often and at random times. Even 4 years later. It is simply, always will be, the worst thing i will ever have experienced. The trauma I still have nearly losing my son that day is massive, yet what that mother has to bare makes mine nothing in comparison 😢 💔 poor poor woman, my heart aches for her
Impi, I get what you’re saying, but comparing what happened to your son to what happened to this woman’s son is a lot like comparing a miscarriage to a crib death. Very different levels
On another note, I’m glad your son has no long-term intellectual deficiencies from that fall or physical handicaps. It’s hard to imagine how one with bounce back from that
i think the most gut wrenching this about these videos is how the parks and the ride makers always get into a legal battle to avoid accountability. Complete lack of compassion, little donations aren't enough. I hope the mother is ok, how insanely upsetting and traumatizing. And the girls right, if the harness isn't completely fastened the ride should lock out and not launch until the issues corrected.
The DA and the people responsible for hiring kids to do a man’s job, are the ones who need to burn in hell. This is wrong on so many levels. This kid died going on his favorite ride. It was 1999. Summer. He had his entire life ahead of him. I was 17. This kid would have been 35 today. I went on rides like that before. This was a death that came too soon and was totally unnecessary.
Totally agree with your comment. Thought it would be good to mention that the girl you’re referring to that said the ride shouldn’t start, is actually his sister. I think it’s so sad that she’s still fighting for something that really should be implemented already.
If you lose a spouse, you are a widow/widower. If you lose both parents, you're an orphan. If you lose a child...there is no word to describe this level of horror. RIP, little one.🙏 You'll be reunited with your mother & family again one day.
From my perception, in the context you used "lose" in your comment, it means death of. However, a child or children can become orphans not only through the death of both parents, but from the parents disappearing or abandoning their child or children.
@@Salvage-1 "Childless" wouldn't be a good term. By definition & common perception, "childless" means a couple or a single person who never had a child, not that they had a child & it died. Similarly the same would go for "husbandless" or "wifeless" if those were terms instead of widow or widower.
I couldn't even imagine having to witness this. Back in 2002 in Okc I heard a neighbor's mother discover him dead in his apartment. Her screams still haunt me. They were the most gut-wrenching wounded animal noises I've ever heard a human being make. RIP Quinton 🙏 don't remember your last name but I do remember you were a nice guy.
Okc here, too. I work at a mortuary in the okc metro. Unfortunately, I have to see the worst of the worst, on a daily basis. I have to do removals for crime scenes etc..
@@jeremygreen4036I can't imagine the emotional toll a job like that takes on emotions & mental health. I woukd imagine you have ti make very concerted efforts to compartmentalize, & sometimes forcfully detach to deal with what you see..
Especially because they had a 14 and 16 year old running the ride. Literal children looking after other children. That is insane. I do not fault the minors at all.
It’s so ridiculous how manipulated we can be with money. It feels as though we live in a system that prioritizes money and production above truth and justice.
The story I was always told is he was autistic and freaked out. And managed to wiggle out of the harness. I dont know what's true or not but I was there. Next to the ride. I heard it... it was horrible.
I was a ride operator at Disney World and this was always one of my biggest fears. I didn't work a drop tower but its scary knowing another person's life in in your hands. I definitely think rides should have emergency stop systems in place is they detect a fault. We have something like it at Disney but its not 100%.
This is just like the Tyree Sampson’s case. I wouldn’t know how to live without my kids. Just her seeing and hearing her child hit that pavement has to be very traumatic and heartbreaking
I remember that. That kid was built like a lineman.He was so big for the ride but was allowed to ride and because he was a big guy they couldn’t secure him in properly. When I was younger I used to love water parks and roller coasters but looking back I got on a lot of sketchy rides. In most cases the operators are usually kids themselves high schoolers working summer break or in carnivals drunk or high attendees.
@@jay-1800 He (tyre S.) was actually turned away from the ride over 3 times, due to his size. He was told flat out he was too big to get on. Eventually, he was able to get on the ride. He was too large to be properly fastened. Tragedy ensued.....While the end result is the same, the circumstances between the two incidents are very different.
The description of what his mother saw was absolutely horrifying to imagine… I can’t begin to think about what she was going through in that moment RIP Josh
As a former 16 year old ride operator, i also don't trust them to do an adequate safety check. I tried my best when i was doing it, but i was also only on the carousel, where it's the most basic of safety checks and seat belts and a bench for those that couldn't go on a horse (people in casts, babies that couldn't support themselves upright with their parents holding them), and i still had anxiety about it
What a peculiar case in regards to how it happened. Josh had rode the ride before so I doubt he did anything wrong, yet every investigation said there was nothing wrong with the ride. Someone can't just die like that without something going wrong or else it would happen every day.
You're talking about a billion dollar business with the money and lawyers to make up whatever the fuck they want of course they're not gonna get the blame.
The way they phrased it like he “was somehow able to slide between the locked harness and the seat” made me do the biggest eye roll. They tried to make it sound like it was his fault, as if he was trying to squeeze his way out of his harness. So messed up.
I'm from Santa Clara, I remember when this happened, the major rumor was that he undid his strap himself. To this day I have no idea where that came from, and this is the first time I'm hearing all these details about the ride malfunctioning and even when he hit the ground. Never heard any of these details before! I guess now I know the rumors probably surfaced because of the lack of answers from the investigation. How sad :(
This happened to my niece Abiah. She was on a field trip for kids that excelled in 2011. My heart goes out to this family. I can’t believe this is still happening.
I actually stumbled upon his tombstone in my neighborhood cemetery while on a casual stroll. And I thought, "This looks very familiar." and then I remembered this video I saw last year. Poor child left the world too soon. I paid my respects. Also nearby was another tombstone of a young local who was in the 9/11 hijacking. It is a small world and it makes me a quite a bit sad yet calm because the departed no longer feel anything negative.
I admire that mother for being able to survive after that. I think I would’ve burned down the park with myself in it if I saw something like that happen.
@@slovnicurling9808 it’s crazy how companies are just allowed to investigate themselves and get away with all kinds of shit, which to me seems like since if we did the same as individuals, we’d go broke and lose our jobs, but companies can’t? Get real bro, someone intentionally had to have hit the button. I’ve had family members that were carnies for years, the rides all operate the same, especially the drop zone ride. They are all built near the same on the panels that the operator is near on the ground. Ever wondered why the seats don’t go down individually? It’s because with some rides, they have to press the button individual to the seat or row to secure the passenger in place. It’s also a fault that they had volunteer workers who aren’t even/weren’t even of age to operate machinery like that, but yeah. We should just let companies continue to investigate themselves instead of giving them ACTUAL punishment. Not to mention, Error Sirens DID go off according to some comments who claimed to be there that day, and so did a few first hand accounts I just googled. Why in the f*ck was the ride wasn’t stopped, and why did they deserve to get away with it? Tbfh, that amusement park AND Disney should be shut down. Many others as well. But at least Disney has ATTEMPTED to get better, but some of these places haven’t. Remember the 14 year old kid that fell 40/60 feet to his death? They charged the operator because he did the same exact shit I believe the teenagers who operated Joshua’s ride that day. Except, The Department Of Florida Ag investigated his, instead of the Orlando FreeFall attraction company itself. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm🤔
This may have happened a long time ago, but my heart goes out to Joshua's family. Especially his mother. That is absolutely heartbreaking and traumatizing
As a season pass holder in 1999 I was waiting at Grizzly next to Drop Zone when they closed the whole park down without explanation and saw a few young girls sobbing about what they saw, what a terrible day for the family and I didn’t go back to Great America for 4 years after that.
One of my brother's best friends Matthew happened to be at Great America that day as well. He was only 9 when it happened. A few years later I went to Great America with my brother and Matthew. Although he saw none of the incident, from then on he refused to go on any of the thrill rides except Grizzly since it didn't go upside down and of course he's never been on Drop Zone to this day. I love roller coasters and have been on Drop Zone numerous times although the last one was probably 13 years ago. I doubt I'll ever ride it again after seeing this though. Ironically, that day I went with Matthew, I ditched them and went on Drop Zone like 5 times by myself while my brother and Matthew kept riding Grizzly which is right next door.
I was there that day. And not that far away from where he fell. I remember seeing a big commotion and a crowd and didn't really find out what happened until after I got home. It really messed me up and I never rode drop zone again. It might seem irrational but being there that day freaked me out to my core.
Absolutely nothing irrational about it. My father worked at a place called Salisbury Beach amusement park in NH in the early seventies as a teenager during the summer. His job was to operate the giant slide ride. Right next to it was their 60 foot high wooden roller coaster. In the course of three weeks he watched two different people commit suicide by jumping from the highest point- one a 17 year old high on LSD, the second a forty year old pregnant woman who had no money or job and was at her wits end. After the second he left and never went to another amusement park again for the rest of his life. Sometimes the best way to get through a traumatic experience- is to distance yourself from it.
@@salvydelacrack4155 he passed several years ago, but sis very well in his life. He used the experience to educate me in how to respond and handle situations where I didn’t feel comfortable or safe. A valuable lesson indeed.
I guess my knee-jerk reaction to say it was "irrational" is the level of shit I got later on as a teenager and going to great America with my friends and not going on that ride. It was the late 90s early 00s and teenage boys, not exactly understanding of trauma. They just saw it as some kid did it to themselves and wasn't the rides fault and me being a (insert insult here) for not wanting to go on drop zone. As an adult I'm just now realizing it's not so irrational.
If the ride showed an error message before they let Joshua's group on, why the hell did they not shut down the ride immediately?! "Oh there's something wrong with this ride, a ride that could go horribly wrong when there's something wrong with it, let's just put some more people on anyway". Wtf 🤦♀️
Error messages aren't always safety critical, and where they are there's usually (I think legally required, but not sure if it would have been when the incident happened) a cut out that prevents the ride from starting.
They should be safety critical though 😭😭 and I thought the same thing. An error message shows for a reason. A ride like this should have shut down IMMEDIATELY!! Point blank period
I am surprised how only one person lost their life from that group. Imagine being on that ride though. I think because it was late at night, they were just tired and weren't thinking right.
What frustrates me is that adding an additional restraint such as a seatbelt costs hardly anything when factored as a % of the total ride development, installation and maintenance costs. Plus they're relatively easy to retrofit, so I'm baffled why, after this tragedy, another death (Tyre Sampson) was able to occur.
Correct. But on the many rides I have been on use the over the shoulder harness. When done right it should pin you into the seat. How he escaped the restraint I guess is still a mystery. Although a visual check of the passenger needs to be done to ensure they have the proper "Look" when in the seat. This would ensure the harness is not above there head and stuff like that. Most likely something was off looking when he was in the restraint at the time.
When I've been on rides like this I swear I remember there being a clip between your legs that was like sort of a seatbelt type strap that attached the overhead bar to the seat, and if it all didn't buckle you were too big and they wouldn't start the ride.
Pretty sure there are reasons not to add a seatbelt beyond installation costs. Those full-body restraints are designed to spread the force over a wide area. Adding a secondary restraint that might focus those forces on a small area could be dangerous.
@@mushyroom9569 it's probably why the don't do it. Ultimately they need to start increasing the age on some of the more extreme rides or have a section of restraints that can accommodate riders that are younger. Thus ensuring that it would be a near physical impossibility to escape from it without some form of external help in case of an emergency or something.
Rest in peace Joshua, you were taken away too soon. Sending so much love to his family and friends, but mainly his mother. I can't imagine how she is feeling 😔
“…we may never know what happened to Joshua.” How about, extreme negligence?! It’s sickening that people will lie to save face, financial stability or anything else you can think of.
How many times did you have to make calls regarding large sums of money? How many times were you involved in media drama and lawsuits? It's called business.
@@Emolga6274 No, not because of America. This unfortunately happens all over the world, just look at what recently happened on a similar ride in India due to the same thing. The problem is wealthy corporation putting their pockets ahead of their patrons and enlisting inexperienced children to operated enormous heavy machinery for the sake of being able to pay them less. That's the problem.
I knew the guy that was hired to clean up the aftermath of this incident back when it happened and he showed me polaroids of the scene. To say his head split open is an understatement. His head struck one of those huge bolts at the base of the ride and exploded in like a 30 foot radius spraying the crowd waiting in line with blood and brains. Most of it was collected but the guy had pictures of small clumps of skull with hair they'd missed, it was gruesome. The splash radius is what really shocked me because of how big it was. He was a creepy guy, he carried around a stack of photos in his shirt pocket of some of the worst jobs he'd cleaned up to shock people with. I didn't hang around with him much, he was a friends brother, kinda interesting though.
People don't realise this job exists. Like people do this stuff daily. It's unreal hey. I guess that's how he connected with people like I'm a weirdo but check this out. Lol
It reminds me of JFK's murder. When his wife grabs part of his skull/brain in the back of the car and tried to put it back. I only realised that's what she did recently when watching the footage. I had seen it so many times but never realised. 😢
I cannot overstate how strong that mom is…I can’t imagining witnessing that, just the thought makes me want to cry and hug my family close. It must of been so, so incredibly traumatic, and I don’t think I could ever push through that.
I remember when Alicia used to host game nights at her apartment when we lived in the same complex. For those of you who’ve never met her, she’s a complete sweetheart and does a lot for her community. I can attest to it. God bless.
So sad, he was such an adorable kid! I certainly hope the family won the lawsuit! Also, how could the park make the claim that nothing was faulty when there was an error message before the ride started? Clearly something was off considering many seats being out of order. Like wtf..
I still remember vividly when this happened. I was a small boy who was terrified of rides but forced myself to go on all the rides that I was able to reach the height requirements. My brother and cousins did drop zone many times over the summers in the late 90's and early 00's with our season passes. The year Joshua passed I was terrified of drop zone especially because kids starting rumor's that Joshua had flown out of the park and into the the parking lot. So for many years I avoided the ride until about 04-05 that I finally gathered the guts to ride it. I am in my early 30's now and recently started taking my European wife to great America since she never did theme parks as a child. She absolutely loves Great America and always wants to go when we have the chance, I still to this day think about Joshua when I enter the park and come to drop zone. RIP you are a reminder that our lives are fragile and anything can happen but to also not let fears stop you from living your best life.
This is my home park. I grew up going here every summer and I remember when this happened. I was 19 at the time and didn't go back until I was 26 (which was the last time I went). The park and the manufacturer are 100% at fault for this horrific tragedy. It's absolutely disgusting that they didn't have to take responsiblity for it. Why are the parks allowed to do internal investigations when stuff like this happens? I would never trust their findings.
If you actually go read other sources and quit jumping to emotional conclusions, it was verified by MULTIPLE witnesses that Josh had been actively trying to climb out of the harness while the ride was operating...due to fear or just unexplained tard energy idk. But if anyone should be blamed it should be him and the mother, he shouldnt have been on that ride. Sorry the truth got in the way of your narrative, i know thats avoided at all costs these days
@@whiteyfisk9769 That’s ridiculous. The park is always responsible. No one should be able to get out of a ride’s restraints. That’s kind of the whole point.
@@rb5078 if the ride caught on fire, and nobody no matter how hard they tried could escape the restraints, then you would be blaming the park even still. Im all for laying blame where it lies, these parks and their safety standards are a joke usually. But when you have a 12 year old autist trying desperately hard as they can to escape..what are you gonna do to stop them? His mother shares some blame, im sorry, but its true.
Not really the manufacturers fault. It's more of a ride operator error literally children operating the ride not grown adults. Ontop of that they ignore error codes
This is the first one of your videos I just could not finish. I have a 15 yr old daughter with Down Syndrome. Once you said the mom saw and he landed 5 feet from her, that was it. I just could not hear anymore. Thank you for the solum way to present each case. I love your content. Keep it up.
Thanks for covering this story. I grew up in the area and was a few years younger than Josh at the time when this happened. It was all over the local news. In the countless times I’ve been to the park since then I have never gone on this ride once. The park is set to close in a few years and be torn down for office buildings or apartments.
I refuse to ride drop zone or any ride like it after seeing this on the news as a kid. Even just waking passed the ride gives me the most uncomfortable feelings. Knowing that Josh was just steps away from where I’m standing makes me so incredibly sad for his family. I’m so sad it’s closing… but it’s weird cause Cedar Fair announced two new entertainment areas for the park so who knows what’s going to happen to the land.
I remember the ride before it called the edge and some people died on that as well. My son got me to go on this one time a couple years ago and I was ready to have a heart attack I'll never go on it again
The video at the end is from an interview with Joshua's sister. I believe she brings up a great point which could have prevented Tyres, and her brother’s death. Also, mistake on the names, I didn't mean to put "the" smh Update: the family did win and settled for an undisclosed fee. Follow my instagram instagram.com/disasterthon/
Yes, she makes a great point, but the fact is, such systems are already in use. There is such a system in place on probably every ride in any park, probably world wide. The ride will not start unless the harness is properly locked. The problem with Tyre's harness was, that the sensor that gives the signal to the ride's computer had been messed with. It's a proximity sensor and it probably moved out of position so it gave a positive signal even though the harness wasn't down all the way. In the video of Tyre's death you can hear one employee ask the operator if the light was on, she was referring to the lights in the operator cabin that show if the harnesses are locked. This is what happened to Tyre. I don't know if this was the case for Joshua.
@@Operngeist1 This has to be right. I've seen videos where they talk about all the incredible safety features put into place on rides, and wonder how tf things still happen to go wrong. Usually when accidents happen, it's because a park goer was doing something they aren't supposed to be doing (NOT saying that was the case for this boy or the more recent one - there are exceptions and those are what generally get a ton of media attention. Not the bozos walking into restricted areas and getting electrocuted or whatever). When it's something like this though it's just so incredibly sad.
This is so terribly sad. I can’t even imagine the horror his poor mother must have endured watching her poor son plummet to his death. I hope that his family has found some peace. 🙏
I worked at that park for years. It wasnt owned by Paramount at that point (its owned by Cedar), and i was a ride operator & supervisor. Not usually at that ride but occasionally. I spoke to someone who was working that day and he said his friend, one of the operators, was never the same after that. He also said you could hear the mom scream all the way at the front of the park (this ride is at the back). So horrible.
I hope that it happened so quick that he didn't know he was falling and I hope he didn't feel any pain. That poor family I hope they're in a better place.
I'm pretty sure his soul/spirit left his body and crossed over to a peaceful place before the impact. Many beings who communicate with mediums say that they crossed over instantly and were able to see what happened to their human body. I had a near death experience once where a giant man was ripping my head with his hands. I was about to pass out and I could feel my spirit preparing to lift out of my body. Though I did feel pain it's like I was fixing to not feel anymore pain. I was going. Then God intervened and stopped it. I tend to believe that there is some point if not instantly that the sense of consciousness stops and the spirit goes. I hope that helps you understand. I've heard of people who pass away in car accidents tell mediums that they instantly crossed over. So very likely that he was already out of his body in consciousness and spirit.
@@danielgouge4639 You had an out of body experience. The brain has a failsafe, that when it preceives potentially incoming death, it protects itself (you) and makes it as peaceful as possible. At least thats the theory, not many can say they escaped near death experiences. I hope it was peaceful for him as well... RIP
@@katherinesmallbean3594 Partially, yes. I get derealization/depersonalization sometimes, and it's similar to anxiety where your body activates fight-or-flight despite the fact it doesn't need to. Mine usually kicks in during bouts of anxiety and/or traumatic experiences so I would imagine falling off a ride would trigger it.
I’m also disabled, it’s awful to see this happen and for some people to assume he did something wrong to be so awfully killed. He stayed in his seat and did nothing wrong.
There's no debate, it's literally impossible for someone with Joshua's frame to slip out of that kind of seat, literally impossible. There's an eyewtiness stating the bar was up too, and that would only happen with it not being secured in the first place or it releasing by some mechanical or software issue, and we know this type of error does happen as it has been reported many times before. The people blaming Joshua's mental deficiency are straight up braindead stupid.
I can’t finish this. I just can’t. My kids go on this type of ride at the theme park a few hours away and it makes me sick to watch. This sweet little dude was just living his best day when disaster struck. I just..can’t.
I lived right near the park when this happened and I remember it well. The way the line was set up for that ride was it wrapped around the base of the tower in a circle and the barrier between the people in line and the base of the tower was just a chain link fence. I always thought about how many people must have had a front row seat to this. 😢
The fact that children used to only die to illnesses and things that we didn’t have the technology to prevent but now they're dying to things we can prevent easily is sad
You going to tell me that a warning message popped up on screen and as a result, they decided to stop the ride for the day....but first let it go one more time??? 100% parks fault. Pure negligence
I saw a similar case like this in 2021, Imagine this happening to your child right in front of you, and thinking you can trust the ride workers with their life. This is a terrible tragedy. RIP Joshua Smurphat .
Absolutely disgusting that his family were not protected by the courts in this case. God's know how that poor mother, gets through each day, seeing that. Love to her xx
@@crooked-halo Do you think he was actually mentally handicapped? He did not look to be and his mother said nothing about it. I know several instances where I and other folks, have almost fallen from their seats. if I am 165 lbs standing at 6'2 and nearly died on one due to no fault of my own, I'm sure the same thing can happen to a 14 year old who is much smaller than me build wise. He was on the drop zone which is the same one I almost died on when I rode it at kings island. I'm to the conclusion that the locking mechanism on the seats does not always work. My son was right next to me on the ride and almost sat in the seat that I jumped in. Had we switched seats, I am almost 100% certain I would have witnessed my sons death that day. In fact, I am positive he would have fallen. He is not mentally disabled either, just goofy.
@@HardWhereHero What does a mentally handicapped person look like? They basically look like everyone else. You cannot tell this by looking at a person,
Had that been my child, I would not have been able to go on. My daughter was hospitalized at three months old and spent two years in and out of ICU. She had two heart surgeries by 16 months of age, and the trauma and uncertainty nearly sent me into full-blown psychosis. Had she not made it, I wouldn't be here either. I can not even bear to fathom the pain of losing a child in such a horrific and random matter. I hope she's doing ok today.
I hope your daughter is fully recovered now. Same, if my baby cousin (closest I have to a child) died in front of me in such a horrific way I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go on.
That poor boy. We’re the same age, he would be 35 now. I’m glad he didn’t feel anything, it would have been way too fast to feel any pain. His sister is 100% right about having the safety relays on rides so they can’t operate unless everyone is buckled in properly.
He would have been absolutely terrified on the way down though...There is no silver lining that can really be found here. This was tragic in every sense of the word.
This was certainly a terrifying incident. I've been on these types of rides before and it wasn't exactly worth taking the risk. It's devastating to see children get involved in accidents similar to this one. They still have long lives ahead. I hope for changes to be set forth to prevent any more accidents from happening even further.
I read about this a couple years after it happened in a woman's magazine article. The story has literally haunted me since then. I always thought that had to be the worst way to lose a child. It made me scared to even want to have a child of my own out of fear of ever having to go through something like this. That poor mom:/ RIP Joshua❤️❤️❤️🙏
His photos are so precious 🤧 this is the most horrific and despairing story 😭 the ride and its operators are 100% responsible 💔 r.i.p Joshua🕊 most precious angel 😇 💖
From the title/beginning, i was thinking this was the recent accident and was hoping you made a mistake when you said 1999. Unfortunate that it took a second accident over 20 years later for this event to really come into light.
It was big news in the Bay Area when it happened. Sometimes local news just doesn't spread nationwide. Especially one that occurred when way fewer people used the internet.
Rest in peace sweet boy. I'm so very sorry this happened. I just cannot fathom your pain and despair. I hope you can find joy in your life again. Praying for peace in your heart and strength to carry on. Rest in eternal peace Joshua. Hugs from Michigan.
I remember when this happened. My family went to Great America about once a summer when I was growing up, and it's where I rode my first "real" upside-down roller coaster. My mom refused to let us go that summer, and she wouldn't let me, my siblings, or my dad ride a drop tower anywhere for another 5 years or so. The older I got and learned more about the incident, the more and more I understood her reaction.
*Idk what's more horrifying. The brain of her child splattering onto her feet, or the fact that she was kinda, almost, close enough to "catch" him and maybe, just maybe, have saved him. It's haunting, and i feel for her and the family. It's appalling knowing the ride is still open reading some of the comments with similar experiences...*
I feel horrible for the young operators as well. They were far too young to experience this kind of trauma, especially since inadequate training and lack of experience is not their fault- it’s the parks.
I lived by there and remember when this happened. I was too scared to go on it before it happened and I definitely never went on afterwards. I always found it sort of weird that they let 16 year olds be responsible for that sort of thing (almost everyone in this area works there at one point in high school)
Right, but you had to be 18 to work on the "shows". Couldn't even audition before that. But you've got kids switching positions so that the younger ones end up operating rides cause no one is paying attention and it's all 15-21 yos.
The minimum wage jobs that have low qualifications like this are usually comprised of high schoolers because no one else employs them and most adults have the legal independence to move on if they can afford it.
3:21 that is just absolutely shocking, if there was an error meaning they NEEDED to shut the ride down, WHY did they let a final group go up? It’s insane…
This was truly heart wrenching! Safety is the #1 product of an amusement part visit. Fun is secondary. Adequate checking and proper training is a MUST. I have worked in a themed park where 14 yr. olds could work. They did NOT however check lap bars. It was mainly sweep the grounds, ride grouper, or show usher. As a mother seeing your child in peril and being helpless to stop it is unfathomable. The name Joshua is Hebrew for God of deliverance. That sweet cherub is now in Heaven. I wish peace to Joshua's family.
Not just that he was able to. That he was SOMEHOW able to. I've seen people claim there was footage of it and... if so, how is there any conjecture as to how he got free himself? They should know exactly how he got free if there's footage of it... but "somehow Palpatine came back"
@@dylancross1039 That's a great comparison! It's like they used lazy throwaway bad film logic but to rationalize an actual human being's death. Insane to think about.
I relate a lot to josh. I went to the same park 100s of times and drop zone was and still is my favorite ride there. I actually just rode it again for the first time in a decade. I always knew that someone had died on it but never knew the details. Absolutely tragic. RIP Josh
I'm horrified from just watching the story. I can't begin to imagine the horror that the poor boy and his mom experienced and the ptsd his mom is most likely having. 😔 my heart breaks for them.
Ah I remember this so well. We used to visit that same park and ride that same ride. After this horrific event, my parents never allowed us to ride any drop zone type ride ever again. I was just fine with that. It amazes me we still have drop zones in operation today. SMH.
I don't think the issue necessarily lies with the ride design. Rather, the operators were around 16 yr olds (who obviously don't completely understand machine operation) and it was mentioned that there was an error message on the operating screen before starting. It was likely a combination of maintenance negligence, inexperience, and not adequately consideration of safety beforehand.
I agree and even the ride before it drops on was called the edge and some people died on that I never wanted to go on drop zone after this story I was in ninth grade when this happened
@@hyperboles6563The ride was made by Intamin, there’s a high chance it was the ride design thinking about all the other people who died due to their ride designs. I’m shocked that they’re even still in business.
I always imagine how clueless everyone must have been when going to these parks. Like I always think about how they just want to have fun and are laughting a few minutes before these horrific accidents happen
It amazes me that people just go ahead and trust these rides with there lives....i was never a fan of amusement parks i just think if all the things that can go wrong mechanically and cant enjoy myself.
There have been some stories and videos that have pretty much shocked me to the point where I couldn't be able to move or type anything for a few moments. This was one of them. The thought of the park not wanting to take any blame whatsoever just goes to show how greedy corporations can get especially when it comes to someone loosing there life on there property. But for an innocent child to loose there life and the park knowing it makes millions of dollars every year makes this story the more horrible. The lengths these corporations go to, to lie than pay the family is just disgusting. God Bless the boy Soul!
"His head split open when it hit the ground with such force that his brains landed on her shoe." That's... unbelievably nightmarish. To see that happen to your own child right in front of you. Oh man that's rough.
@@nakaylapeterson310 sorry he put you through that.
@@nakaylapeterson310 you trippin are you 😮
@@nakaylapeterson310 I won't try to make that sound better you'll probably have after effects for a long time, but don't let it define you. talk to the right people and you'll get everything moving forward again eventually. I wish you luck and I am sorry for what happened
Thriller rides to much experience not worth it faster better higher sad world X
@@nakaylapeterson310 lol
the fact that an error alert went off right before the ride went up into the air and yet the ride was still allowed to function....there is absolutely fault against paramount park for his death.
I have heard on videos about other people who died in amusement park ride accidents that many times the staff see a warning buzzer but ignore it.
@Daniel Gouge these Staffers were kids who were untrained and Ill-equipped to address safety alarms. This all falls on Paramount Park.
@@sersastark Definitely. I mean, 14? Really? That’s not even old enough to drive a car let alone operate a ride.
@@sersastarkidk man if i see any lights start flickering or a warning i’m calling someone idc if i hold the ride up. that’s is so insane how it wouldn’t freak someone out enough to not know WHY and have someone come see if they don’t understand.
I can't believe a 14 and 16 year old were operating that ride that is insane
This has to be the ultimate nightmare story in amusement park accident history, dear lord. I can’t imagine the trauma that mother experienced for her remaining years, poor woman.
And that this was his favourite ride too, so incredibly sad and so traumatising for the mother to see it.
yeah safe to say she had a bad day that day, due to human incompetence once again.
This one and the one with the little boy on the water slide that got decapitated right in front of his brother & family at the end of the slide waiting for him. That stuck with me.
Alton towers !
@@chancebush9139 Yeah. That was the son of Kansas State Rep. Scott Schwab, and was a devastating story here in the "We build airplanes so you don't ever have to spend time in the state again State". The worse part is that part of the reason the ride was allowed to be designed by amateurs when no professional engineer would sign off on the Verruckt design is because the Kansas legislature allowed a lack of rigorous regulation and allowed self-inspection for the park.
I can’t imagine witnessing something this horrific as a random bystander, let alone have it be someone you love.
It was horrible. It was my 11th birthday and my friend and I were eating ice cream before going on the ride and saw it happen. I feel so bad for his family.
Even worse it's your child
@@emilyl2642😢
@@emilyl2642I’m sorry. I hope you’re doing well
@@emilyl2642Dang that hurts
I grew up going to Great America, and was told the story of Joshua as a child so I was never allowed by my family to ride drop zone. Everyone knows his shoulder bar opened during the drop, everyone knows we can’t manually open the bars from our buckled seats, we all know he was not buckled in correctly and it’s disgusting that his family was not given justice and the park wasn’t held responsible.
Kura….it’s up to the park to enforce their own protocols, not the kid’s.
How stupid are you, lowbred? >.>
@@kuramayoko23 Uh, letting someone on the ride who is not supposed to be on the ride is absolutely the responsibility of the park. What is wrong with you?
@@kuramayoko23 I’m confused. Where did it say he had anything that disqualified him from riding?
Are you conflating this kid with that Tyree kid?
In this video the claim is the kid had nothing that would have been a safety issue on the ride.
If I’m wrong, please fill me in.
It sounds like a payoff.
@@kuramayoko23 I'm sorry but what disqualified him from riding in the first place? I didn't hear that in the video! Thank you.
“We’ve investigated ourselves and found we’ve done nothing wrong”
I feel terrible for his mother. I couldn’t imagine witnessing your child’s death because of the park’s negligence.
They forgot to mention he tried to climb out of his seat
@@MidwestRainstorms So if you died at an amusement park at his age it would be your mother's fault? Where do you get such demented logic?
@@AllOfTheHallows The amusement park didn't get in trouble, its seats weren't defective or anything.
@@jazzabighits4473 That doesn't mean you pass blame on to the traumatized grieving parent.
@@MidwestRainstorms what facts? you talk of facts but all you make is a baseless claim....
If that happened to one of my kids 5 feet from me I think I would die on the spot. How absolutely horrific.
I totally agree. I don’t know how ppl live after the loss of a child bc I’d off myself 100%. My heart goes out to Joshuas mom and family but the mother had his brains on her feet. Whole crap.
@@brooklynbarbie6855 Just picturing it happening to Joshua made me dizzy. I can't even comprehend that happening it's just too much. I think I would literally just die.
Completely agree. I know without a doubt I’d just off myself as terrible as that sounds. My brain couldn’t handle that happening to my son. I’m so heartbroken for her and him.
@@micheleg3094 this is one of the worst things I've ever heard of in my life. I can't even imagine being there. I'm gonna cuddle my kids.
@@TheThora17 I knew the story wasn't exactly going to have a happy ending but omg this was so much worse than I thought possible
His mom running to try to catch him is gut wrenching.
That is a mother for you...
I know.. I’m glad she didn’t get there though because otherwise both of them would have died. It’s 200 feet in the air, so falling from that high would have crushed the mother and the son. 💔💔
@HPedits51 she probably wishes it did
@@mark675exactly it sounds horrible probably would have been better if she did, how do you ever live with something like this? How can she even go about day to day activities i can’t imagine.
I would have given up my life for the boy I feel so bad for the mother she tried to save her son but failed because of just one minor malfunction that's honestly heart breaking
My husband has lifelong ptsd from this happening to him on the drop zone ride. The safety harness flew up when he was at the top. He almost slid out of his seat and fell to the ground, but was able to somehow wiggle his butt back up into the seat, and luckily grabbed the harness and pulled it down in one shot and held onto dear life during the fall.
It’s insane that this shit happens. I’m not sure how these rides even make it to the building stage with design flaws like this.
I can’t imagine the fear my guy and this boy must’ve felt. My heart goes out to him and his mom & family 💔
Wait... this wasn't the first time the ride had a similar incident?!
Tell him the exact same thing happened with me and my son back in 2018, I slipped out and the harness shot upward at the peak of the climb heading into the fall. My son went to grab me and I heard him scream "Daddy your bar!!!" I slapped his hands away and told him to stop because I was scared that maybe my restraint was connected to his somehow and his would release as well, or him moving around would cause his to come unlocked too(stupid logic but I was thinking literal worst case scenario) I grabbed onto the harness with my right hand, which was sweaty and wet. I just held on as tight as I could. When the brakes released for the fall, I looked over at my son and could see the absolute terror on his face. I knew I was in a bad situation and I was straight mortified, I honestly thought that my life was over. I remember very vividly that I kept thinking I don't want my son to see me fall out and die. "Just look up!!" I remember saying something like " I'm not scared son, but I want you to look up at the sky!!" The first 10 seconds were so iffy that I was praying and cursing at the same time due to not having a good hold onto the harness. I was able to scoot up a bit in my seat and wrap my right arm over the harness just a bit using the gravity from the start of the fall. I have not, and will not, ride the DZ ever again. I have jumped from helicopters before and felt safer.
@@Moonstone-Redux People "Allmost" fall from these rides all the time, especially the round one that is designed in a circle shape. I'm a normal sized dude, 6'2 165 lbs. I was riding the DZ one day at kings island right after leaving the water park. I was wet and slippery and the locking mechanism on the seat I was in was broken and did not clamp down correctly. I was too concerned with my son and making sure he was okay, he was a few inches under the height limit and they let him ride with me anyways. I honestly did not want him getting on the ride but he was pumped from were it was his first year being tall enough for most of the rides.
@@HardWhereHero that's so scary, seems like its happened to a lot of people, they need the shut down this ride before someone else dies on it. I mean it should've been shut down after what happened to Joshua
Tyre Sampson shot never have been on that ride. He was 100 lbs over the weight limit. He had been turned away from other rides that day. Funny how his family called a lawyer and the media before they even called a funeral home.
Josh would be so proud of his sister. All these years later and she’s still advocating for him.
❤
❤
May he rest in paradise.😢❤
Amen
I think he wriggled out of the harness on his own. Maybe some special needs people shouldn't be allowed on rides as harsh as that may sound.
This is a real life nightmare. Joshua’s brains spilling onto his mom’s shoe is truly terrifying and bone-chilling...
She clearly did not have enough brains as a britt lol! Only added about 4 IQ points,
Not to mention mind-blowing.
@@commandervile394 hey man,im all for dark humour but now isn't the time
@@lorietherizzler That time done sailed past long ago, amigo.
@@commandervile394 that was a kid bro. Not Cool
So gut wrenching!! When she said she ran for the exit gate because she thought she could catch him, my heart breaks for her! As a mum I can't even begin to imagine what this woman goes through everyday since this horrific accident. To say i hope you find peace one day doesn't seem right, how could you after seeing that happen. My hopes and prayers are always with you, I'm so sorry for your loss!
The person talking about seeing the boy struggle to hold on before he fell stuck with me. Seeing someone in their last moments like that must be haunting.
It is.... Especially when the out cone is horrifying, I've seen a drunk man stumbled into a group of teen around 2am in front of our apt window i was helping my mom bring 8b stuff from our night at the drive in , idk what was said but he pulled a gun and i was behind him about 10ft and he yelled I'ma blow them out! And blew his own head off, i remember his pony tail whipping around and than his body dropping i remember the inside of his head and being able to see the top of his eyeball. I was 8. It's something else
@@arizonalady7569 I think the first time we see someone die is a really humbling experience. It's one of the key points in life where we suddenly realize how valuable life is, still, we're never the same after it.
@@shadowmaster452 humbling? These two events are just brutally traumatic to witness. Jarring, morbid, horrifying, close to as dark as anything you could witness, sure. I don't see how its humbling tbh
@@rockyevans1584 humbling in the sense that sometimes we think we're immortal or don't value life as much as we should, we kinda forget that death exists sometimes, so events like that really make us step outside the bubble and remember to take care of ourselves and spend as much time with others as we can.
@@rockyevans1584 he means that feel of invincible leaves you. They you realize wait a minute I'm going to die someday. After my father passed away in 19 I really started trying to take care of myself eat right workout etc etc. It's going to happen but I want it to be peacefully surrounded by loved ones like them then blowing my brains out having a heart attack alone or falling to my death because of some broken POS ride
As a parent , I don’t know how you keep going after such trauma, and heartbreak. My heart breaks for any parent who goes through something like that.
I don't think I could keep going.
I honestly would kill myself
If you have more than 1 kid, you gotta be strong for them. It's easy to throw yourself into your other kids to avoid processing grief
It’s so sad. My mom’s best friend’s son died in June and he was only 22… it’s very unfortunate. She is only still going on because she has her daughter to be strong for.
@@HelloYersoGaeexactly. Josh has a sister, which probably explains the mothers motivation to stay as strong as possible
As a parent my heart really aches for that woman. Seeing a person hit concrete head-first at 60mph would be *unbelievably* graphic and scar you mentally for life by itself, let alone that person being your actual child. She’s probably relived that scene in her mind endlessly. That fact the park was cleared of any wrong doing is a disgrace - it’s very clear the park owners had some sort of power or leverage with the local authorities to get away with something this horrific.
I know ppl in high places, this park was not culpable.
Even if you were to hate that person it would be the most scarring thing to see, very sad unfortunate situation
@@jackiepowell7513 sure you do. You're SO important.
@@jackiepowell7513 I know people in higher places. It’s almost if not impossible to slide out of one of those harnesses if its properly locked. If you’ve ever ridden a ride like that then you know that the bars lock at certain intervals and if you suck in your stomach and pull down you can lock yourself in very tight. Or you can not pull down far enough and the same bars will be loose. The ride operator is responsible for making sure it’s tight but I’ve had to pull my on bar down further before. In this case it’s obvious that the bar was never pulled tight enough. If it was the little boy could not have fallen. Plus how can you say that a park that lets a 14 year old operate a ride is not negligent?
@@jackiepowell7513 retribution is coming fast and it is definitely going to be a power of such unfathomably horrifying proportions that all who see it will be immediately and extremely and permanently traumatised
I was actually at the park that day, people were walking away from the drop zone talking to people and I vaguely remember hearing from someone saying, "DON'T GO TOWARDS THE DROP ZONE! A KID DIED THERE!" and I remember me and my parents being like, "naaaaaaaah just one of those rumors probably an injury or something people like to overreact." didn't see the body but definitely saw the ambulances there from a distance. It's crazy when you go to a park the same day someone is part of an accident at the park.
One of my brother's best friends Matthew happened to be at Great America that day as well. He was only 9 when it happened. A few years later I went to Great America with my brother and Matthew. Although he saw none of the incident, from then on he refused to go on any of the thrill rides except Grizzly since it didn't go upside down. I love roller coasters and have been on Drop Zone numerous times although the last one was probably 13 years ago. I doubt I'll ever ride it again after seeing this though. Ironically, that day I went with Matthew, I ditched them and went on Drop Zone like 5 times by myself while my brother and Matthew kept riding Grizzly which is right next door.
I was at a resort recently and a kid almost drowned in the pool (they did cpr). The pool closed for like 30mine while police and ambulance were there. I saw the kid and parents with them. Pool opens and I felt weird like that couple lives almost completely changed and here it is all packed like nothing happened. How bizarre.
I was at Jesus' crucifixion, it was totally crazy, the crowds were intense that day!
@@vicdog4440 Some kid got severely injured at an amusement park I went to, not this incident though
It's not that far fetched
I was there that day and saw him fall 😢
I wanted to go on the ride after the ride we were queuing for so I was watching it. I remember it vividly and gave a witness statement to police by email later. Horrific and never forgotten the poor family.
I witnessed a boy drowning when I was 10 and it still haunts me 50 years later. I can’t even begin to imagine how his grandmother went on with life after seeing her grandson die such a horrifying death. Heartbreaking.
I’m sorry that happened to you. Was the boy okay?
@@froggygalaxy that doesn’t mean death dude
@@froggygalaxy my mother’s little brother drowned and survived due to someone saving him
My mom died in my arms in may tried cpr on her nothing worked ptsd is real we need to find groups to cope and learn from each other and ourself and professionals I hope you get the help you need or you will be lost I know I am but I’m getting the help
@@froggygalaxy yeah it was edited
The park owners are trash when they tried to blame Joshua for his own death. Absolutely heartbreaking but completely preventable tragedy. It is sickening that the park owners got away without any sort of accountability
Fuck great America. I haven’t been there in 20 years.
Nowadays big companies do not held responsibility for anything this includes doctors too/health services wise mom words
"You are on your own world in any service you are provided even if it could cost your life, no one will be in that world with you to protect or care for you and no one will held responsibility nor share sympathy"
This happened to my mother on a hiking tourist trip when young the cliff path had some wooden fence that broke and she ended up falling breaking her ankle the tourist company wasn't responsible for her fall and no one help her to carry her she had to lift up herself and the company just called for ambulance and thats it, meanwhile she was crying and suffering for a broken ankle bone, big bill she had to pay for medical expenses, of course no responsibility for the poor maintance safety"
@@Faded-Tales-PreviouslyHarley your body does not slam into the restraints, it falls with the carriage
"Well you see, your dumb child somehow unlocked the lever himself and simply swan dived to his death on his own! Why should we be blamed for something we didn't make our child slaves check? Please forgive us and come back next year! There'll be one extra strap on the ride in his memory, hope that makes you feel better!"
it was kinda everyones fault involved even the mom🙃
How does his mum even carry on after that? What an utterly amazing and strong lady she is, my heart goes out to her and Joshua‘s family x
I would have died on the spot from sheer horror.
Heck, I’d need a ton of therapy seeing that even if it wasn’t my kid!
The mom very well may be holding on solely because she has another child/children to be a mother to.
I’m sure it’s a feeling and experience that I cannot imagine and that I would not wish upon anyone.
She had no other choice but to keep going
I couldn't, I think my life would end as well
Prescription drugs, a lot of them.
I can’t imagine what his mother goes through everyday. Not only having to watch it all happen a few feet away and not being able to save your baby…but also to not have any justice served at all. Heartbreaking.
*every day
@Jusxradar ladies, y'all both pretty
@Jusxradar tramp, then
putting a mentally challenged in one of these rides pretty stupid idea sorry!
@@ezragonzalez8936 1) A mentally challenged... what? Where's the noun?
2) How is that in any way relevant?
I honestly feel bad for the 14yo operator. I can’t imagine living with that on your conscience, whether it was your fault or not
Honestly, he probably just assures himself he did nothing wrong and the boy did it to himself. I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying that's probably how that dude copes.
@@AbraCaStabra probably not, most people involved in accidental deaths end up blaming themselves :( It would be much better if he *could* convince himself he did nothing wrong, would be healthier for himself and everyone around him in his life.
And before someone goes "um but it was his fault" 14yo should not be allowed nor expected to operate heavy machinery with the capacity to kill, this is the fault of park management. Now I'm sure some 14yo could handle it but not most of them, you could hardly trust half of all adults to do it, so why would you put it into the hands of a kid who doesn't have the life experience to know about death and loss?
@@cameronabshire1195 The operator was 14, but the one that strapped the boy in was 16. Still a kid too, but worth pointing out as 16 year olds regularly get jobs for operating heavy machinery. It surely is infuriating that it happened, but for damages to be granted you need "more".
This is probably also why the judge denied the damages, Paramount's decision to employ children isn't unheard of, it still isn't as of today.
'Freak' accidents, and I'm referring to the legal term not the slang term, are distinctly different from gross neglect or criminal intent.
@@cameronabshire1195 Hi. Do you know what the word cope means? What you described is not coping. I said "that's probably how he copes." If he's not coping, then yeah, he probably lets that shit eat away at him.
There's really only three options: 1. Cope (absolve yourself of any responsibility). 2. Blame yourself and let it eat away at you for the rest of your life. 3. Accept your share of the blame (if there is any) and move on.
@@AbraCaStabraDude can be happy he's underage... imagine if the court came to the conclusion that it actually was his fault.
As a mother of a son, this is truly horrific and my heart broke for her when she said “she ran thinking she could catch him". I can only imagine her brain was probably not able to process what was happening and even after the fact, was in shock and couldn’t understand. I would’ve went crazy on everyone. They’d have to kill me too.
You are right Leila. Nobody could process what was happening if it was their child. I'm in shock just hearing this so I can't imagine what it would be like to have that happen to someone.
I feel the same way, this is so horrific, I don't think I could ever get on with my life if this happened to my boy.
❤️
It would be an unimaginable shock to the system. A literal living nightmare. So sad 😢
When we gained true sentience, we became more brains than bodies. It's terrible that you can outlive your brain. A brain in a jar is more human that a body without a brain.
This is part of why I think autistic people are so creepy and terrible. Like, I look into their oddly-spaced eyes and wonder what the fuck they are, and why we let them have this existence.
Goes double if they're fat as fuck, too, which most of them are.
Being someone with PTSD i literally don't see how it's possible to deal with trauma like this, i feel for this mom and i hope that she got help after the incident
You don't recover from it, you merely learn to cope with the trauma.
@@crazyadam9281 sorry I'm not good at wording but yeah, it is still hard to deal with though.
I understand drug addiction after things like this. I really don't know how people even function afterwards.
I thank God all the time that this never happened to me. I was a ride operator at a Six Flags park from 16-17 years old. Most of my coworkers were my age. There were some days/times where everyone operating the ride was under the age of 18. We were trained to check seat belts and harnesses 2x, one person on each side of the train. We also knew how to stop the ride in case of an emergency and when to tell people they couldn't ride. You had to be at least 48 in tall and able to strap the seatbelt AND lower the lapbar into the locked position. We even had seatbelt extenders to make sure more people could enjoy the ride. However, if you didn't meet those requirements, you couldn't ride. That's about all of the training we had. I turned so many children and adults away, but I KNOW others would let people slide because they didn't want to "hurt anyone's feelings" 🤦🏾♀️
Luckily although often horrific, these incidents are extremely rare. People are far more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the park than on a ride.
That's exactly why I worked in food service at six flags. At 16 and 17 I felt like that was too much responsibility.
That is why they should also have demo ride seats you can see IF you can fit in and lock properly before you ride.
@@invaderhorizongreen8168 That's a really good idea.
Thank you for doing your job and turning people away! I can imagine it can be anxiety inducing bc some people will react rather upset, but I know everyone would rather not ride a ride then die bc it wasn't safe for them, at least I know I would. I would thank anyone who turned me away tbh
I feel bad for Joshua’s parents the most, but I can’t imagine how the 14 year old ride operators feel. They probably won’t forget the incident in their lives and never forgive themselves
Honestly kind of upset with their parents. My mom would NEVER let me have that kind of job that young. I worked on a farm at that age with equipment that wasn't big tractors, just hay barrels and rakes (mostly removing poop from pens). If you're gonna force a child into labor that young, make it an age appropriate job. This was just ridiculous.
@@ellendaniels8715 I don't know about this particular case, but lots of teens get jobs _because_ their parents don't care or take good care of them. Just sayin
Good. They dont deserve forgivness
@@early2exit ratio
@@MontycelA i ratiod you with 1 like lmao
My son and I got on a ride called blast off. The seat clicked open. For a split second, I thought the ride was going to shoot upward. We started screaming and the employee came over and locked out seats. Needless to say, that was not fun because I didn't know if it would open again. A ride I used to enjoy... I won't ever ride it again. It legit freaked me out.
Don’t worry, it was probably that the operator unlocked every seat for an issue, or something like that. An average drop/launched drop tower would never be launching you without have your seat locked (a drop tower would immediately stop climbing up, and then come down very slowly, and a launched drop tower would never launch, it’s programmed).
im taking it a step further and riding no rides. shit is not managed with lives in mind. this shit was so preventable
One employee forgot to buckle me in so I had to hurry and get his attention before he started the ride, I might not be here if I didn't say anything. Scary how close that was.
@@BenjiXAddictX4Ever bullshit
That's why I don't get on rollercoasters anymore. I was never really fond of amusement parks anyway. People move too quick these days to check things out. And I can't take risk at an amusement park.
The scariest thing was that I was on this ride last year, and as I clicked my seatbelt in, it didn’t go in all the way. Luckily an operator fixed this, but if they didn’t and continued on, I would’ve died in that same spot. It’s really disturbing to think about what would’ve been the alternative outcome. After watching this video, I’ve realized how lucky I was.
I had the same thing happened to me my very first time riding Drop Zone when I was a 5th grader! A (I hate to bodyshame, but) very fat adult woman had sat in the same seat before I did and may have broken the harness. Because when I sat in it, it wouldn't stay down. I was aware of this incident and was thinking about the boy who died the whole time. And I remember saying "Hello! Please check me! Um, I don't want to die..." And I swear, I was one of the last people they checked before sending them up. And within 20 seconds of trying to get my bar and belt to stay, they said "sorry, we need you to get up and take the next ride, your seat is broken" and I remember they put a big red out of order band on the seat. And then I had to wait for the next ride. Thus I couldn't ride with my family. But I remember some very kind older men saw me all by myself and walking back to the line and noticed I looked sad, so they consoled me, gave me some smiles, and reassured me that I'd be okay on the next one, which I was. I have since been on Drop Zone numerous times since then. But the last one was like 13 years ago. I will never ride it again after watching this though.
Don’t ride operators check every single person on the ride anyway??
i used to work on that ride. We're trained to visually and physically check each seatbelt, and they will be visually checked again by the other floor op. The seatbelt is also more of a measuring tool than anything, if it doesn't reach the rider is too large to safely fit on the ride. It does act as a redundancy too, though, in the extremely unlikely case the restraint failed.
I went on the tower of terror at Disney in the mid 2000s & when it dropped I noticed I wasn't fully locked in, causing me to start floating up when I stopped. I held on to keep myself in that seat.
@@jonjones9072they needed the attention
This story had me on edge, when you said he landed 5 feet from his mom, I cried. My heart goes out to the family.
I cried too. There's no excuse that engineers at parks cannot troubleshoot for dangers in their ride construction. I grew up loving rollercoasters at Cedar Point. Now as a mother and hearing these stories pop up every few years- I just cannot imagine this mother's pain. The sheer horror of it! I wish my kid were home from school already so I could hold her.
@@teelakovacs208 This! Exactly! Such a tragedy could have been easily prevented :(
All I could think about was my mom who would often watch me go on rides as a kid as she got motion sickness. Oh my godddd that would be so devastating. I’ve heard other stories where kids or someone else slipped out and their parent was left to finish the ride, how awful.
Ikr especially when his brain was on the mother’s shoes absolutely TERRIFIED me
@@supermarioennerd8687 Yes! The narrator sure was . . . descriptive 👀
I can’t imagine the mother’s pain. To have that moment on repeat in your head....has to be torture.
I've had those depressing and terrifying dreams before, I can't imagine waking up in relief only to remember it actually happened.
@@ThePegasiPony that’s one of the worst feelings in life sadly..and what’s worst is it’s actually common
My son fell out a 2nd floor window when he was 2½ and even though he survived (no long term issues with him, we are so blessed) I will never forget the sight of seeing him laying on the garden floor. The image haunts me and comes to my mind often and at random times. Even 4 years later. It is simply, always will be, the worst thing i will ever have experienced. The trauma I still have nearly losing my son that day is massive, yet what that mother has to bare makes mine nothing in comparison 😢 💔 poor poor woman, my heart aches for her
Impi,
I get what you’re saying, but comparing what happened to your son to what happened to this woman’s son is a lot like comparing a miscarriage to a crib death.
Very different levels
On another note, I’m glad your son has no long-term intellectual deficiencies from that fall or physical handicaps.
It’s hard to imagine how one with bounce back from that
i think the most gut wrenching this about these videos is how the parks and the ride makers always get into a legal battle to avoid accountability. Complete lack of compassion, little donations aren't enough. I hope the mother is ok, how insanely upsetting and traumatizing. And the girls right, if the harness isn't completely fastened the ride should lock out and not launch until the issues corrected.
The DA and the people responsible for hiring kids to do a man’s job, are the ones who need to burn in hell. This is wrong on so many levels. This kid died going on his favorite ride. It was 1999. Summer. He had his entire life ahead of him. I was 17. This kid would have been 35 today. I went on rides like that before.
This was a death that came too soon and was totally unnecessary.
The rich business owners golden staircases are built by the blood that falls from their patrons, of course AFTER they have already taken their money!
I worked that park that day and I can tell u the ride operators were only 16 and not well trained
Miss me with that commie horseshit. The only rich people involved are Paramount, who undoubtedly had very little to do with the park's operation.
Totally agree with your comment. Thought it would be good to mention that the girl you’re referring to that said the ride shouldn’t start, is actually his sister. I think it’s so sad that she’s still fighting for something that really should be implemented already.
If you lose a spouse, you are a widow/widower.
If you lose both parents, you're an orphan.
If you lose a child...there is no word to describe this level of horror.
RIP, little one.🙏 You'll be reunited with your mother & family again one day.
I honestly never thought about that. I wonder why we don't have a word for that.
@@adamconner9302 childless can be a term?
@@Salvage-1not in this context
From my perception, in the context you used "lose" in your comment, it means death of. However, a child or children can become orphans not only through the death of both parents, but from the parents disappearing or abandoning their child or children.
@@Salvage-1 "Childless" wouldn't be a good term. By definition & common perception, "childless" means a couple or a single person who never had a child, not that they had a child & it died. Similarly the same would go for "husbandless" or "wifeless" if those were terms instead of widow or widower.
Joshua's death definitely did NOT go unnoticed, I remember seeing this incident all over the news when it first happened, it stuck with me forever 😕
I couldn't even imagine having to witness this. Back in 2002 in Okc I heard a neighbor's mother discover him dead in his apartment. Her screams still haunt me. They were the most gut-wrenching wounded animal noises I've ever heard a human being make. RIP Quinton 🙏 don't remember your last name but I do remember you were a nice guy.
Milkmouth was his last name.
@@pornsakpongthong1092 omg 😭
Okc here, too. I work at a mortuary in the okc metro. Unfortunately, I have to see the worst of the worst, on a daily basis. I have to do removals for crime scenes etc..
@@jeremygreen4036I can't imagine the emotional toll a job like that takes on emotions & mental health. I woukd imagine you have ti make very concerted efforts to compartmentalize, & sometimes forcfully detach to deal with what you see..
@@pornsakpongthong1092how’s life been since writing this comment?
How they found no fault in the park is ridiculous. It sounds like they were being bribed to keep quiet or something
If I was the mother, there would be some dead park owners for killing my kid.
Once an error message comes up, the ride shouldn't be operated at all but it was which is clearly a fault
Especially because they had a 14 and 16 year old running the ride. Literal children looking after other children. That is insane. I do not fault the minors at all.
It’s so ridiculous how manipulated we can be with money. It feels as though we live in a system that prioritizes money and production above truth and justice.
The story I was always told is he was autistic and freaked out. And managed to wiggle out of the harness. I dont know what's true or not but I was there. Next to the ride. I heard it... it was horrible.
I was a ride operator at Disney World and this was always one of my biggest fears. I didn't work a drop tower but its scary knowing another person's life in in your hands. I definitely think rides should have emergency stop systems in place is they detect a fault. We have something like it at Disney but its not 100%.
And the only reason Disney rides have those safety features is because a kid was dragged under and killed by the Roger Rabbit cab
Very true @@angelux2793
This is just like the Tyree Sampson’s case. I wouldn’t know how to live without my kids. Just her seeing and hearing her child hit that pavement has to be very traumatic and heartbreaking
I remember that. That kid was built like a lineman.He was so big for the ride but was allowed to ride and because he was a big guy they couldn’t secure him in properly.
When I was younger I used to love water parks and roller coasters but looking back I got on a lot of sketchy rides. In most cases the operators are usually kids themselves high schoolers working summer break or in carnivals drunk or high attendees.
@@jay-1800 Yeah lol. I trust people over 21 more. Maybe 18 or 19
But tyre was grossly obese and shouldn't have even been on the ride
@@jay-1800 He (tyre S.) was actually turned away from the ride over 3 times, due to his size. He was told flat out he was too big to get on. Eventually, he was able to get on the ride. He was too large to be properly fastened. Tragedy ensued.....While the end result is the same, the circumstances between the two incidents are very different.
i hate that they knew he was too big and didnt stop him from going on they couldnt secure him and shouldve asked him to get off.
The description of what his mother saw was absolutely horrifying to imagine… I can’t begin to think about what she was going through in that moment
RIP Josh
I was just reading her social media post about him and it’s just heartbreaking 😔
I wouldn’t trust a 16 year-old do an adequate safety check. This is absolutely appalling.
RIP Sweet Joshua. 💚
Exactly. Those kids that work those rides are lazy.
I don't trust a 16 year old to put the cheese on my burger. They often can't get that right
As a former 16 year old ride operator, i also don't trust them to do an adequate safety check. I tried my best when i was doing it, but i was also only on the carousel, where it's the most basic of safety checks and seat belts and a bench for those that couldn't go on a horse (people in casts, babies that couldn't support themselves upright with their parents holding them), and i still had anxiety about it
@@Jim26D true 😂😂😂😂
you'd rather trust a burnt out 24 year old?
That poor kid and family. Imagine what is supposed to be one of the happiest days in your life, turning to tragedy in the blink of an eye.
What a peculiar case in regards to how it happened. Josh had rode the ride before so I doubt he did anything wrong, yet every investigation said there was nothing wrong with the ride. Someone can't just die like that without something going wrong or else it would happen every day.
You're talking about a billion dollar business with the money and lawyers to make up whatever the fuck they want of course they're not gonna get the blame.
@squatchfromearth4076 Yup. Just pointing out how brazen it is was all my intention was.
@@squatchfromearth4076billionaires can die too....
The way they phrased it like he “was somehow able to slide between the locked harness and the seat” made me do the biggest eye roll. They tried to make it sound like it was his fault, as if he was trying to squeeze his way out of his harness. So messed up.
I'm from Santa Clara, I remember when this happened, the major rumor was that he undid his strap himself. To this day I have no idea where that came from, and this is the first time I'm hearing all these details about the ride malfunctioning and even when he hit the ground. Never heard any of these details before! I guess now I know the rumors probably surfaced because of the lack of answers from the investigation. How sad :(
This happened to my niece Abiah. She was on a field trip for kids that excelled in 2011. My heart goes out to this family. I can’t believe this is still happening.
Your niece died from a ride like drop zone? So sorry and sad to hear.
@Love Dove it was a ferris wheel
That’s awful. Was it that park? I’m so sorry !!
@@ilovela323 it was on some pier park , she fell out Ferris Wheel
@anidiotmakesthings yes
Oh my gosh "his brains were on her shoes",I couldn't even begin to imagine how that must be,it's a hard blow just hearing that 😞😞😞🙏🏾
I actually stumbled upon his tombstone in my neighborhood cemetery while on a casual stroll. And I thought, "This looks very familiar." and then I remembered this video I saw last year. Poor child left the world too soon. I paid my respects.
Also nearby was another tombstone of a young local who was in the 9/11 hijacking. It is a small world and it makes me a quite a bit sad yet calm because the departed no longer feel anything negative.
My Uncle Was on Flight 11, Fly high William 🕊
@@WymIsHereI’m so sorry Wym
I admire that mother for being able to survive after that. I think I would’ve burned down the park with myself in it if I saw something like that happen.
👌🥺
I would destroy the ride then kms. This is straight outta FNaF omg
It's crazy how these theme parks just carry on like nothing happened after such a gruesome death.
Facts bruh🤣🤣sick
Yeah it's crazy they just don't want to close their livelihood and go live under the bridge. That audacity. Yikes.
All they want is money it’s extremely sickening😢
@@slovnicurling9808 ikr people gotta eat💀
@@slovnicurling9808 it’s crazy how companies are just allowed to investigate themselves and get away with all kinds of shit, which to me seems like since if we did the same as individuals, we’d go broke and lose our jobs, but companies can’t? Get real bro, someone intentionally had to have hit the button. I’ve had family members that were carnies for years, the rides all operate the same, especially the drop zone ride. They are all built near the same on the panels that the operator is near on the ground. Ever wondered why the seats don’t go down individually? It’s because with some rides, they have to press the button individual to the seat or row to secure the passenger in place. It’s also a fault that they had volunteer workers who aren’t even/weren’t even of age to operate machinery like that, but yeah. We should just let companies continue to investigate themselves instead of giving them ACTUAL punishment. Not to mention, Error Sirens DID go off according to some comments who claimed to be there that day, and so did a few first hand accounts I just googled. Why in the f*ck was the ride wasn’t stopped, and why did they deserve to get away with it?
Tbfh, that amusement park AND Disney should be shut down. Many others as well. But at least Disney has ATTEMPTED to get better, but some of these places haven’t.
Remember the 14 year old kid that fell 40/60 feet to his death? They charged the operator because he did the same exact shit I believe the teenagers who operated Joshua’s ride that day. Except, The Department Of Florida Ag investigated his, instead of the Orlando FreeFall attraction company itself.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm🤔
This may have happened a long time ago, but my heart goes out to Joshua's family. Especially his mother. That is absolutely heartbreaking and traumatizing
As a season pass holder in 1999 I was waiting at Grizzly next to Drop Zone when they closed the whole park down without explanation and saw a few young girls sobbing about what they saw, what a terrible day for the family and I didn’t go back to Great America for 4 years after that.
One of my brother's best friends Matthew happened to be at Great America that day as well. He was only 9 when it happened. A few years later I went to Great America with my brother and Matthew. Although he saw none of the incident, from then on he refused to go on any of the thrill rides except Grizzly since it didn't go upside down and of course he's never been on Drop Zone to this day. I love roller coasters and have been on Drop Zone numerous times although the last one was probably 13 years ago. I doubt I'll ever ride it again after seeing this though.
Ironically, that day I went with Matthew, I ditched them and went on Drop Zone like 5 times by myself while my brother and Matthew kept riding Grizzly which is right next door.
Why did you ever go back you clown?
I was there that day. And not that far away from where he fell. I remember seeing a big commotion and a crowd and didn't really find out what happened until after I got home. It really messed me up and I never rode drop zone again. It might seem irrational but being there that day freaked me out to my core.
I’m sorry
Absolutely nothing irrational about it. My father worked at a place called Salisbury Beach amusement park in NH in the early seventies as a teenager during the summer. His job was to operate the giant slide ride. Right next to it was their 60 foot high wooden roller coaster. In the course of three weeks he watched two different people commit suicide by jumping from the highest point- one a 17 year old high on LSD, the second a forty year old pregnant woman who had no money or job and was at her wits end. After the second he left and never went to another amusement park again for the rest of his life. Sometimes the best way to get through a traumatic experience- is to distance yourself from it.
@@saragrant9749 thank you for your reply. That sounds very traumatic and awful. Hope your father is well.
@@salvydelacrack4155 he passed several years ago, but sis very well in his life. He used the experience to educate me in how to respond and handle situations where I didn’t feel comfortable or safe. A valuable lesson indeed.
I guess my knee-jerk reaction to say it was "irrational" is the level of shit I got later on as a teenager and going to great America with my friends and not going on that ride. It was the late 90s early 00s and teenage boys, not exactly understanding of trauma. They just saw it as some kid did it to themselves and wasn't the rides fault and me being a (insert insult here) for not wanting to go on drop zone.
As an adult I'm just now realizing it's not so irrational.
If the ride showed an error message before they let Joshua's group on, why the hell did they not shut down the ride immediately?! "Oh there's something wrong with this ride, a ride that could go horribly wrong when there's something wrong with it, let's just put some more people on anyway". Wtf 🤦♀️
Error messages aren't always safety critical, and where they are there's usually (I think legally required, but not sure if it would have been when the incident happened) a cut out that prevents the ride from starting.
They should be safety critical though 😭😭 and I thought the same thing. An error message shows for a reason. A ride like this should have shut down IMMEDIATELY!! Point blank period
I am surprised how only one person lost their life from that group. Imagine being on that ride though.
I think because it was late at night, they were just tired and weren't thinking right.
What frustrates me is that adding an additional restraint such as a seatbelt costs hardly anything when factored as a % of the total ride development, installation and maintenance costs. Plus they're relatively easy to retrofit, so I'm baffled why, after this tragedy, another death (Tyre Sampson) was able to occur.
Correct. But on the many rides I have been on use the over the shoulder harness. When done right it should pin you into the seat. How he escaped the restraint I guess is still a mystery. Although a visual check of the passenger needs to be done to ensure they have the proper "Look" when in the seat. This would ensure the harness is not above there head and stuff like that. Most likely something was off looking when he was in the restraint at the time.
When I've been on rides like this I swear I remember there being a clip between your legs that was like sort of a seatbelt type strap that attached the overhead bar to the seat, and if it all didn't buckle you were too big and they wouldn't start the ride.
Pretty sure there are reasons not to add a seatbelt beyond installation costs. Those full-body restraints are designed to spread the force over a wide area. Adding a secondary restraint that might focus those forces on a small area could be dangerous.
Companies will not even spend 1 cent if they don’t have to . It’s the American way
@@mushyroom9569 it's probably why the don't do it. Ultimately they need to start increasing the age on some of the more extreme rides or have a section of restraints that can accommodate riders that are younger. Thus ensuring that it would be a near physical impossibility to escape from it without some form of external help in case of an emergency or something.
Rest in peace Joshua, you were taken away too soon. Sending so much love to his family and friends, but mainly his mother. I can't imagine how she is feeling 😔
“…we may never know what happened to Joshua.”
How about, extreme negligence?! It’s sickening that people will lie to save face, financial stability or anything else you can think of.
How many times did you have to make calls regarding large sums of money?
How many times were you involved in media drama and lawsuits?
It's called business.
@chrisakaschulbus4903 A person lost their life I hope all these people in this “business” loose their money jobs and dignity.
@@christianmathew398what would you do if you had a theme park making you millions of dollars per year
So you conducted your own forensic investigation?
@@chrisakaschulbus4903American Psycho
He looked like such a sweet boy. How were children given such responsibility in operating rides? So sad
Cuz murica
@@Emolga6274 No, not because of America. This unfortunately happens all over the world, just look at what recently happened on a similar ride in India due to the same thing. The problem is wealthy corporation putting their pockets ahead of their patrons and enlisting inexperienced children to operated enormous heavy machinery for the sake of being able to pay them less. That's the problem.
@@Emolga6274 Cuz capitalism
In this new crazy world we live in they hire people based on the wrong things, people that shouldn’t be in certain positions are.
@@kenirainseeker539 yeah because this could never happen in a Communist country. Brain-dead fool
Them first sentences really hit me. It was his "favorite place" AND "favorite ride" that killed him. How fucked up is that?? Rest In Peace Joshua.
I DIDNT HEAR THAT PART BUT HE GOT KILLED BY HIS FAVOURITE AREA?!?!?!? THATS JUST… INDESCRIBABLE
@@DeclanjhoulgraveIKR
I knew the guy that was hired to clean up the aftermath of this incident back when it happened and he showed me polaroids of the scene. To say his head split open is an understatement. His head struck one of those huge bolts at the base of the ride and exploded in like a 30 foot radius spraying the crowd waiting in line with blood and brains. Most of it was collected but the guy had pictures of small clumps of skull with hair they'd missed, it was gruesome. The splash radius is what really shocked me because of how big it was.
He was a creepy guy, he carried around a stack of photos in his shirt pocket of some of the worst jobs he'd cleaned up to shock people with. I didn't hang around with him much, he was a friends brother, kinda interesting though.
People don't realise this job exists. Like people do this stuff daily. It's unreal hey. I guess that's how he connected with people like I'm a weirdo but check this out. Lol
It reminds me of JFK's murder. When his wife grabs part of his skull/brain in the back of the car and tried to put it back. I only realised that's what she did recently when watching the footage. I had seen it so many times but never realised. 😢
That is so gruesome, jesus.
@@TiredCapybara because people have to clean up bodies? Keeping Polaroids of it is weird tho no offense.
my god, thats horrific!
I cannot overstate how strong that mom is…I can’t imagining witnessing that, just the thought makes me want to cry and hug my family close.
It must of been so, so incredibly traumatic, and I don’t think I could ever push through that.
I remember when Alicia used to host game nights at her apartment when we lived in the same complex. For those of you who’ve never met her, she’s a complete sweetheart and does a lot for her community. I can attest to it. God bless.
So sad, he was such an adorable kid!
I certainly hope the family won the lawsuit!
Also, how could the park make the claim that nothing was faulty when there was an error message before the ride started? Clearly something was off considering many seats being out of order. Like wtf..
NEVER ignore error messages on theme park rides.
The child was clearly off.😶👍
@@johnhall7850 What's that supposed to mean?
@@johnhall7850 I think you're the one that's "off" 👍
AND they were illegally hiring kids who were too young. HOW are they not at fault???
I still remember vividly when this happened. I was a small boy who was terrified of rides but forced myself to go on all the rides that I was able to reach the height requirements. My brother and cousins did drop zone many times over the summers in the late 90's and early 00's with our season passes. The year Joshua passed I was terrified of drop zone especially because kids starting rumor's that Joshua had flown out of the park and into the the parking lot. So for many years I avoided the ride until about 04-05 that I finally gathered the guts to ride it. I am in my early 30's now and recently started taking my European wife to great America since she never did theme parks as a child. She absolutely loves Great America and always wants to go when we have the chance, I still to this day think about Joshua when I enter the park and come to drop zone. RIP you are a reminder that our lives are fragile and anything can happen but to also not let fears stop you from living your best life.
This is my home park. I grew up going here every summer and I remember when this happened. I was 19 at the time and didn't go back until I was 26 (which was the last time I went). The park and the manufacturer are 100% at fault for this horrific tragedy. It's absolutely disgusting that they didn't have to take responsiblity for it. Why are the parks allowed to do internal investigations when stuff like this happens? I would never trust their findings.
If you actually go read other sources and quit jumping to emotional conclusions, it was verified by MULTIPLE witnesses that Josh had been actively trying to climb out of the harness while the ride was operating...due to fear or just unexplained tard energy idk. But if anyone should be blamed it should be him and the mother, he shouldnt have been on that ride.
Sorry the truth got in the way of your narrative, i know thats avoided at all costs these days
@@whiteyfisk9769 That’s ridiculous. The park is always responsible. No one should be able to get out of a ride’s restraints. That’s kind of the whole point.
@@rb5078 if the ride caught on fire, and nobody no matter how hard they tried could escape the restraints, then you would be blaming the park even still.
Im all for laying blame where it lies, these parks and their safety standards are a joke usually. But when you have a 12 year old autist trying desperately hard as they can to escape..what are you gonna do to stop them? His mother shares some blame, im sorry, but its true.
@@whiteyfisk9769 give those article links
Not really the manufacturers fault. It's more of a ride operator error literally children operating the ride not grown adults. Ontop of that they ignore error codes
His mom having to witness that is so heartbreaking. Poor Joshua. Disgusting they let KIDS operate it
@As the hours pass… That means the kid operating it was only 2 years older than Joshua, that’s messed up
This is the first one of your videos I just could not finish. I have a 15 yr old daughter with Down Syndrome. Once you said the mom saw and he landed 5 feet from her, that was it. I just could not hear anymore. Thank you for the solum way to present each case. I love your content. Keep it up.
Understandable ❤️🩹
if I was one of the operators, that memory would be burned in my brain forever and no amount of therapy would ever keep me from blaming myself
Thanks for covering this story. I grew up in the area and was a few years younger than Josh at the time when this happened. It was all over the local news. In the countless times I’ve been to the park since then I have never gone on this ride once.
The park is set to close in a few years and be torn down for office buildings or apartments.
my experience as well
i think it's for apartments, might be mixed use
I refuse to ride drop zone or any ride like it after seeing this on the news as a kid. Even just waking passed the ride gives me the most uncomfortable feelings. Knowing that Josh was just steps away from where I’m standing makes me so incredibly sad for his family.
I’m so sad it’s closing… but it’s weird cause Cedar Fair announced two new entertainment areas for the park so who knows what’s going to happen to the land.
I remember the ride before it called the edge and some people died on that as well. My son got me to go on this one time a couple years ago and I was ready to have a heart attack I'll never go on it again
The video at the end is from an interview with Joshua's sister. I believe she brings up a great point which could have prevented Tyres, and her brother’s death. Also, mistake on the names, I didn't mean to put "the" smh
Update: the family did win and settled for an undisclosed fee.
Follow my instagram instagram.com/disasterthon/
Yes, she makes a great point, but the fact is, such systems are already in use. There is such a system in place on probably every ride in any park, probably world wide.
The ride will not start unless the harness is properly locked. The problem with Tyre's harness was, that the sensor that gives the signal to the ride's computer had been messed with. It's a proximity sensor and it probably moved out of position so it gave a positive signal even though the harness wasn't down all the way. In the video of Tyre's death you can hear one employee ask the operator if the light was on, she was referring to the lights in the operator cabin that show if the harnesses are locked.
This is what happened to Tyre. I don't know if this was the case for Joshua.
Hey Disasterthon - was just wondering, could you do a video on the Twilight Zone Helicopter Crash case?
@@JarethTheGoblinKingForever I do plan on doing this at some point
@@DisasterthonTrueHorror That's great. Thank you for the work that you do to bring these tragic but important cases to light.
@@Operngeist1 This has to be right. I've seen videos where they talk about all the incredible safety features put into place on rides, and wonder how tf things still happen to go wrong. Usually when accidents happen, it's because a park goer was doing something they aren't supposed to be doing (NOT saying that was the case for this boy or the more recent one - there are exceptions and those are what generally get a ton of media attention. Not the bozos walking into restricted areas and getting electrocuted or whatever). When it's something like this though it's just so incredibly sad.
This is so terribly sad. I can’t even imagine the horror his poor mother must have endured watching her poor son plummet to his death. I hope that his family has found some peace. 🙏
I worked at that park for years. It wasnt owned by Paramount at that point (its owned by Cedar), and i was a ride operator & supervisor. Not usually at that ride but occasionally. I spoke to someone who was working that day and he said his friend, one of the operators, was never the same after that. He also said you could hear the mom scream all the way at the front of the park (this ride is at the back). So horrible.
I hope that it happened so quick that he didn't know he was falling and I hope he didn't feel any pain. That poor family I hope they're in a better place.
I'm pretty sure his soul/spirit left his body and crossed over to a peaceful place before the impact. Many beings who communicate with mediums say that they crossed over instantly and were able to see what happened to their human body. I had a near death experience once where a giant man was ripping my head with his hands. I was about to pass out and I could feel my spirit preparing to lift out of my body. Though I did feel pain it's like I was fixing to not feel anymore pain. I was going. Then God intervened and stopped it. I tend to believe that there is some point if not instantly that the sense of consciousness stops and the spirit goes. I hope that helps you understand. I've heard of people who pass away in car accidents tell mediums that they instantly crossed over. So very likely that he was already out of his body in consciousness and spirit.
I'm pretty sure when he hit the ground, he didn't feel pain because the impact killed him I'm sure he knew he was falling...
@@danielgouge4639 You had an out of body experience. The brain has a failsafe, that when it preceives potentially incoming death, it protects itself (you) and makes it as peaceful as possible.
At least thats the theory, not many can say they escaped near death experiences. I hope it was peaceful for him as well... RIP
@@MrMrTravman I believe it's called Dissociation? It's a comforting thing to think about given the story.
@@katherinesmallbean3594 Partially, yes. I get derealization/depersonalization sometimes, and it's similar to anxiety where your body activates fight-or-flight despite the fact it doesn't need to. Mine usually kicks in during bouts of anxiety and/or traumatic experiences so I would imagine falling off a ride would trigger it.
I’m also disabled, it’s awful to see this happen and for some people to assume he did something wrong to be so awfully killed. He stayed in his seat and did nothing wrong.
There's no debate, it's literally impossible for someone with Joshua's frame to slip out of that kind of seat, literally impossible. There's an eyewtiness stating the bar was up too, and that would only happen with it not being secured in the first place or it releasing by some mechanical or software issue, and we know this type of error does happen as it has been reported many times before. The people blaming Joshua's mental deficiency are straight up braindead stupid.
How do you know that?
@@randylahey1232because it would have been mentioned in the video
@@-yasmean- yes of course, THE VIDEO couldn't possibly be misinformed
@@-yasmean-Even the video of the inciden't doesn't have this detail.
You don't see or hear what exactly he was up to.
I can’t finish this. I just can’t. My kids go on this type of ride at the theme park a few hours away and it makes me sick to watch. This sweet little dude was just living his best day when disaster struck. I just..can’t.
I lived right near the park when this happened and I remember it well. The way the line was set up for that ride was it wrapped around the base of the tower in a circle and the barrier between the people in line and the base of the tower was just a chain link fence. I always thought about how many people must have had a front row seat to this. 😢
Yeah I used to stay away from that ride
The fact that children used to only die to illnesses and things that we didn’t have the technology to prevent but now they're dying to things we can prevent easily is sad
You going to tell me that a warning message popped up on screen and as a result, they decided to stop the ride for the day....but first let it go one more time???
100% parks fault. Pure negligence
That poor mother. There is no recovering from that trauma 😔
poor little guy, he must have been so scared, and that poor mother too. My heart goes out to them.
I saw a similar case like this in 2021, Imagine this happening to your child right in front of you, and thinking you can trust the ride workers with their life. This is a terrible tragedy. RIP Joshua Smurphat .
Absolutely disgusting that his family were not protected by the courts in this case. God's know how that poor mother, gets through each day, seeing that. Love to her xx
@@crooked-halo Do you think he was actually mentally handicapped? He did not look to be and his mother said nothing about it. I know several instances where I and other folks, have almost fallen from their seats. if I am 165 lbs standing at 6'2 and nearly died on one due to no fault of my own, I'm sure the same thing can happen to a 14 year old who is much smaller than me build wise. He was on the drop zone which is the same one I almost died on when I rode it at kings island. I'm to the conclusion that the locking mechanism on the seats does not always work. My son was right next to me on the ride and almost sat in the seat that I jumped in. Had we switched seats, I am almost 100% certain I would have witnessed my sons death that day. In fact, I am positive he would have fallen. He is not mentally disabled either, just goofy.
What are they going to do with the money they win, buy him a new life?. They care more about money than him. THat is even more disgusting.
@@HardWhereHero What does a mentally handicapped person look like? They basically look like everyone else. You cannot tell this by looking at a person,
even if they did, they can't bring back her son
@@HardWhereHeroLmao, what does a person with mental handicap look like?
Had that been my child, I would not have been able to go on. My daughter was hospitalized at three months old and spent two years in and out of ICU. She had two heart surgeries by 16 months of age, and the trauma and uncertainty nearly sent me into full-blown psychosis. Had she not made it, I wouldn't be here either. I can not even bear to fathom the pain of losing a child in such a horrific and random matter. I hope she's doing ok today.
Same with me.
I hope your daughter is fully recovered now. Same, if my baby cousin (closest I have to a child) died in front of me in such a horrific way I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go on.
That poor boy. We’re the same age, he would be 35 now. I’m glad he didn’t feel anything, it would have been way too fast to feel any pain. His sister is 100% right about having the safety relays on rides so they can’t operate unless everyone is buckled in properly.
He would have been absolutely terrified on the way down though...There is no silver lining that can really be found here. This was tragic in every sense of the word.
Honestly, falling directly onto your head is probably the most merciful death one could hope for in such a scenario. 😢
it's one of the most Terrifying actually
To be fair, the outcome would have been the same either way falling down at that speed.... Absolutely gut wrenching 😢
This was certainly a terrifying incident. I've been on these types of rides before and it wasn't exactly worth taking the risk. It's devastating to see children get involved in accidents similar to this one. They still have long lives ahead. I hope for changes to be set forth to prevent any more accidents from happening even further.
The safety mechanisms to prevent accidents like this are already in place. The problems start when the rides aren't properly maintained.
I read about this a couple years after it happened in a woman's magazine article. The story has literally haunted me since then. I always thought that had to be the worst way to lose a child. It made me scared to even want to have a child of my own out of fear of ever having to go through something like this. That poor mom:/ RIP Joshua❤️❤️❤️🙏
His photos are so precious 🤧 this is the most horrific and despairing story 😭 the ride and its operators are 100% responsible 💔 r.i.p Joshua🕊 most precious angel 😇 💖
??? Are u kidding me. Have u seen his haircut or double chin. Not to mention dumb face
looking at his photos makes me so sad he looks like such a sweet and precious boy
@@2manyscarsoh well
@@2manyscarsyeah but he was fat and looked dumb but yeah poor kid
I think he was probably on the spectrum.
Poor kid 😢
I worked at Great America when this happened. I was going across on the delta flyer when I heard on the radio that someone fell from the ride.
From the title/beginning, i was thinking this was the recent accident and was hoping you made a mistake when you said 1999. Unfortunate that it took a second accident over 20 years later for this event to really come into light.
Sadly not, this is addressed at the end of the video
It was big news in the Bay Area when it happened. Sometimes local news just doesn't spread nationwide. Especially one that occurred when way fewer people used the internet.
Rest in peace sweet boy. I'm so very sorry this happened. I just cannot fathom your pain and despair. I hope you can find joy in your life again. Praying for peace in your heart and strength to carry on. Rest in eternal peace Joshua. Hugs from Michigan.
I remember when this happened. My family went to Great America about once a summer when I was growing up, and it's where I rode my first "real" upside-down roller coaster. My mom refused to let us go that summer, and she wouldn't let me, my siblings, or my dad ride a drop tower anywhere for another 5 years or so. The older I got and learned more about the incident, the more and more I understood her reaction.
*Idk what's more horrifying. The brain of her child splattering onto her feet, or the fact that she was kinda, almost, close enough to "catch" him and maybe, just maybe, have saved him. It's haunting, and i feel for her and the family. It's appalling knowing the ride is still open reading some of the comments with similar experiences...*
Man do you really think she would have saved him? I mean she would have only hurt herself,at that velocity you can't just catch a human body
Is it even possible to catch a human falling down at that speed, without incurring serious injury?
@@HYDROCARBON_XD My thoughts exactly.
Both probably would end up dead but thats probably the outcome she wished for. @@amandamorgan2802
At that speed she would have died too if she had managed to get under him.
I feel horrible for the young operators as well. They were far too young to experience this kind of trauma, especially since inadequate training and lack of experience is not their fault- it’s the parks.
yep. the park and builders of the machine caused many children and a whole family a lot of trauma for nothing but profit
I lived by there and remember when this happened. I was too scared to go on it before it happened and I definitely never went on afterwards. I always found it sort of weird that they let 16 year olds be responsible for that sort of thing (almost everyone in this area works there at one point in high school)
Right, but you had to be 18 to work on the "shows". Couldn't even audition before that. But you've got kids switching positions so that the younger ones end up operating rides cause no one is paying attention and it's all 15-21 yos.
The minimum wage jobs that have low qualifications like this are usually comprised of high schoolers because no one else employs them and most adults have the legal independence to move on if they can afford it.
3:21 that is just absolutely shocking, if there was an error meaning they NEEDED to shut the ride down, WHY did they let a final group go up? It’s insane…
This was truly heart wrenching! Safety is the #1 product of an amusement part visit. Fun is secondary. Adequate checking and proper training is a MUST. I have worked in a themed park where 14 yr. olds could work. They did NOT however check lap bars. It was mainly sweep the grounds, ride grouper, or show usher. As a mother seeing your child in peril and being helpless to stop it is unfathomable. The name Joshua is Hebrew for God of deliverance. That sweet cherub is now in Heaven. I wish peace to Joshua's family.
They worded it as he was 'able' to slip between the harness and the seat. Blaming the victim and taking no responsibility as usual in these cases.
Not just that he was able to. That he was SOMEHOW able to. I've seen people claim there was footage of it and... if so, how is there any conjecture as to how he got free himself? They should know exactly how he got free if there's footage of it... but "somehow Palpatine came back"
@@dylancross1039 That's a great comparison! It's like they used lazy throwaway bad film logic but to rationalize an actual human being's death. Insane to think about.
I relate a lot to josh. I went to the same park 100s of times and drop zone was and still is my favorite ride there. I actually just rode it again for the first time in a decade. I always knew that someone had died on it but never knew the details. Absolutely tragic. RIP Josh
I'm horrified from just watching the story. I can't begin to imagine the horror that the poor boy and his mom experienced and the ptsd his mom is most likely having. 😔 my heart breaks for them.
omg, that poor family but that poor mother. how insanely traumatizing.
Poor kid. He should be 35 or 36 today. How much life he missed.
I hope God provides him eternal happiness heaven
@@supreetkaurgill9500uh huh
Ah I remember this so well. We used to visit that same park and ride that same ride. After this horrific event, my parents never allowed us to ride any drop zone type ride ever again. I was just fine with that. It amazes me we still have drop zones in operation today. SMH.
I don't think the issue necessarily lies with the ride design. Rather, the operators were around 16 yr olds (who obviously don't completely understand machine operation) and it was mentioned that there was an error message on the operating screen before starting. It was likely a combination of maintenance negligence, inexperience, and not adequately consideration of safety beforehand.
I agree and even the ride before it drops on was called the edge and some people died on that I never wanted to go on drop zone after this story I was in ninth grade when this happened
@@hyperboles6563The ride was made by Intamin, there’s a high chance it was the ride design thinking about all the other people who died due to their ride designs. I’m shocked that they’re even still in business.
I always imagine how clueless everyone must have been when going to these parks. Like I always think about how they just want to have fun and are laughting a few minutes before these horrific accidents happen
It amazes me that people just go ahead and trust these rides with there lives....i was never a fan of amusement parks i just think if all the things that can go wrong mechanically and cant enjoy myself.
There have been some stories and videos that have pretty much shocked me to the point where I couldn't be able to move or type anything for a few moments. This was one of them. The thought of the park not wanting to take any blame whatsoever just goes to show how greedy corporations can get especially when it comes to someone loosing there life on there property. But for an innocent child to loose there life and the park knowing it makes millions of dollars every year makes this story the more horrible. The lengths these corporations go to, to lie than pay the family is just disgusting. God Bless the boy Soul!