Shylah Rodden: Woman critical after 'falling' from rollercoster, but police say she was WALKING on tracks
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: A Melbourne woman was severely injured after a rollercoaster accident at the Royal Melbourne Show on Sunday, September 25. Shylah Rodden, 26, remains in the intensive care unit after the accident and is currently fighting for her life. So far it is established that Shylah walked onto a section of the 350m-long track to retrieve her phone and was struck by a carriage. The matter is currently under investigation by Victoria Police and WorkSafe. Some eyewitnesses have claimed that Shylah was in fact onboard the ride whereas the police have maintained that she was retrieving her mobile phone from the tracks.
One witness of the amusement park tragedy, told Daily Mail Australia: "She flew from the ride, loud bang. Followed by a scream and very loud crack of her hitting the ground. I was standing right next to it when it happened. Poor girl laying in a large pool of blood as medical response was so slow!" Another witness slammed the police's claims saying, "I did not see her walking or climbing on the tracks at all, we saw her flying from the ride, where she landed and how she landed is not consistent with being hit. Not from what we witnessed. We were standing right next to the ride when it happened."
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Shylah's father, Alan Rodden talked to the outlet to express his grief and explain the current state of her daughter. He said, "There are a lot of stories going around and I don't know which one is true and if someone is covering their tracks. Obviously I can't talk to my daughter. She's going to be in a coma for quite a while. The injuries are horrific. Horrific. She's brain damaged. It's pelvic, her arms, legs, back, neck - there's hardly a thing that's not broken. I just can't work out how the hell so much damage has been done. Even the doctors have said they haven't seen anything as bad as this for a long time.
Another passenger told the outlet that they were forced to carry their belongings saying, "I went on Friday and they made me take my bag and bottle of coke on it. I was freaking out that I was going to drop something. You didn't have a choice."
Melbourne woman severely injured in rollercoaster injury
Shylah's sister Caisha Rodden told Daily Mail Australia, "Shylah was actually there working. She was helping out her friend at her stall for the day and she was sent on her break with another worker and they decided to go on a few rides to kill time and this happened unfortunately." She got back at online trolls who are mocking her severely injured sister saying, "It’s sad and disgusting to see the false stories and cover up when my sister is fighting for her life." Another witness shared a chilling detail, "We saw her fall from the ride, (heard) the scream and the crack of her hitting the ground. My husband was one of the first on the scene. We were standing right next to it when it happened."
Breaking the silence over the tragic incident, CEO of the Melbourne Royal Show Brad Jenkins told 7NEWS, "It is a tragic accident and from our understanding there was a mobile phone at the base of the Rebel Coaster that she dropped on the ride and she went back to recover the mobile phone. Regrettably, she was tragically struck by the cart coming down. She was not on the ride. She was on the ground at the time of impact when she was struck by the cart. Our thoughts are with the young woman that was involved in this tragic accident and her family and friends. It’s really devastating. It is an extreme rollercoaster which is a lot of fun generally, but this was a tragic accident that shouldn’t have happened."