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Heartbreaking update from rollercoaster accident two years on

<p>Two years on from a tragic accident that almost claimed the life of then 26-year-old Shylah Rodden, an investigation into the incident has been brought to a close. </p> <p>In September 2022, Shylah was hit by the moving Rebel Coaster at the Melbourne Royal Show when she allegedly walked onto the tracks to retrieve her phone.</p> <p>The incident cause horrific injuries, leaving Shylah in an induced coma for several weeks. </p> <p>The 28-year-old is still recovering from the accident, with her mother revealing that Shylah can walk and talk but is blind in her right eye and deaf in her left ear. </p> <p>“She has no sense of smell, she has difficulties swallowing, she has cognitive disabilities and impairments,” Kylie Rodden told the <em><a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/shylah-rodden-rollercoaster-victim-remains-deaf-blind-two-years-after-tragedy/news-story/34ef054346b6eadb86231d7b49d2e7bb" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-type="article-inline">Herald Sun</a></em>.</p> <p>“Most of her days are taken up with different types of therapies.”</p> <p>The mother said her daughter’s “whole life has changed” after the devastating accident. </p> <p>The update on Shylah's recovery comes after WorkSafe Victoria confirmed a lengthy investigation into the incident that injured Rodden had ended and no further action would be taken.</p> <p>“After careful consideration of the evidence, WorkSafe has determined not to take further action against any duty holder on this matter at this time,” a spokesperson said.</p> <p>Rodden’s family said they were left “disappointed” by the decision.</p> <p>“At this stage, we have only received a letter from WorkSafe advising that their investigations are complete and that they have decided not to bring a prosecution against the ride operator,” Sharlene Mehta, Rodden’s lawyer and associate with Arnold Thomas and Becker, said.</p> <p>“We have not received a copy of WorkSafe’s report so we have no knowledge of what their investigations covered, or who was interviewed as part of their investigations."</p> <p>“WorkSafe did not interview Shylah, nor her family in relation to the incident.”</p> <p>Mehta said they were told there is an option to call on WorkSafe to reconsider its findings and potentially undertake further investigation, but they will not make a decision until they get a copy of the findings.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The incident has had far-reaching impacts on Shylah. Whilst her recovery has been miraculous, Shylah’s injuries will carry lifelong impacts,” Mehta said. </p> <p><em>Image credits: 7News</em></p>

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On a climate rollercoaster: how Australia’s environment fared in the world’s hottest year

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/albert-van-dijk-25318">Albert Van Dijk</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shoshana-rapley-711675">Shoshana Rapley</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tayla-lawrie-1517759">Tayla Lawrie</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p>Global climate <a href="https://wmo.int/media/news/wmo-confirms-2023-smashes-global-temperature-record">records were shattered</a> in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year and numerous weather disasters occurred as climate change reared its head.</p> <p>How did Australia’s environment fare against this onslaught? In short, 2023 was a year of opposites.</p> <p>For the past nine years, we have trawled through huge volumes of data collected by satellites, measurement stations and surveys by individuals and agencies. We include data on global change, oceans, people, weather, water, soils, vegetation, fire and biodiversity.</p> <p>Each year, we analyse those data, summarising them in an <a href="https://bit.ly/ausenv2023">annual report</a> that includes an overall Environmental Condition Score and <a href="https://ausenv.online/aer/scorecards/">regional scorecards</a>. These scores provide a relative measure of conditions for agriculture and ecosystems. Scores declined across the country, except in the Northern Territory, but were still relatively good.</p> <p>However, the updated <a href="https://tsx.org.au/">Threatened Species Index</a> shows the abundance of listed bird, mammal and plant species has continued to decline at a rate of about 3% a year since the turn of the century.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=357&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=357&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=357&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581821/original/file-20240314-22-p8uskx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=448&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Environmental condition indicators for 2023, showing the changes from 2000–2022 average values. Such differences can be part of a long-term trend or within normal variability.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wenfo.org/aer/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023_Australias_Environment_Report-1.pdf">Australia's Environment 2023 Report.</a></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Riding a climate rollercoaster in 2023</h2> <p>Worldwide, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-2023s-record-heat-worsened-droughts-floods-and-bushfires-around-the-world-220836">77 countries broke temperature records</a>. Australia was not one of them. Our annual average temperature was 0.53°C below the horror year 2019. Temperatures in the seas around us were below the records of 2022.</p> <p>Even so, 2023 was among Australia’s eight warmest years in both cases. All eight came after 2005.</p> <p>However, those numbers are averaged over the year. Dig a bit deeper and it becomes clear 2023 was a climate rollercoaster.</p> <p>The year started as wet as the previous year ended, but dry and unseasonably warm weather set in from May to October. Soils and wetlands across much of the country started drying rapidly. In the eastern states, the fire season started as early as August.</p> <p>Nonetheless, there was generally still enough water to support good vegetation growth throughout the unusually warm and sunny winter months.</p> <p>Fears of a severe fire season were not realised as El Niño’s influence waned in November and rainfall returned, in part due to the warm oceans. Combined with relatively high temperatures, it made for a hot and humid summer. A tropical cyclone and several severe storms caused flooding in Queensland and Victoria in December.</p> <p>As always, there were regional differences. Northern Australia experienced the best rainfall and growth conditions in several years. This contributed to more grass fires than average during the dry season. On the other hand, the rain did not return to Western Australia and Tasmania, which ended the year dry.</p> <h2>So how did scores change?</h2> <p>Every year we calculate an Environmental Condition Score that combines weather, water and vegetation data.</p> <p>The national score was 7.5 (out of 10). That was 1.2 points lower than for 2022, but still the second-highest score since 2011.</p> <p>Scores declined across the country except for the Northern Territory, which chalked up a score of 8.8 thanks to a strong monsoon season. With signs of drought developing in parts of Western Australia, it had the lowest score of 5.5.</p> <p>The Environmental Condition Score reflects environmental conditions, but does not measure the long-term health of natural ecosystems and biodiversity.</p> <p>Firstly, it relates only to the land and not our oceans. Marine heatwaves damaged ecosystems along the eastern coast. Surveys in the first half of 2023 suggested the recovery of the Great Barrier Reef plateaued.</p> <p>However, a cyclone and rising ocean temperatures occurred later in the year. In early 2024, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-barrier-reefs-latest-bout-of-bleaching-is-the-fifth-in-eight-summers-the-corals-now-have-almost-no-reprieve-225348">another mass coral bleaching event</a> developed.</p> <p>Secondly, the score does not capture important processes affecting our many threatened species. Among the greatest dangers are invasive pests and diseases, habitat destruction and damage from severe weather events such as heatwaves and megafires.</p> <h2>Threatened species’ declines continued</h2> <p>The <a href="https://tsx.org.au/">Threatened Species Index</a> captures data from long-term threatened species monitoring. The index is updated annually with a three-year lag, largely due to delays in data processing and sharing. This means the 2023 index includes data up to 2020.</p> <p>The index showed an unrelenting decline of about 3% in the abundance of Australia’s threatened bird, mammal and plant species each year. This amounts to an overall decline of 61% from 2000 to 2020.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=350&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581823/original/file-20240314-16-yi6tr0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Line graph of Threatened Species Index" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Threatened Species Index showing the abundance of different categories of species listed under the EPBC Act relative to 2000.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wenfo.org/aer/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023_Australias_Environment_Report-1.pdf">Australia's Environment 2023 Report</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>The index for birds in 2023 revealed declines were most severe for terrestrial birds (62%), followed by migratory shorebirds (47%) and marine birds (24%).</p> <p>A record 130 species were added to Australia’s <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/nominations">threatened species lists</a> in 2023. That’s many more than the annual average of 29 species over previous years. The 2019–2020 <a href="https://theconversation.com/200-experts-dissected-the-black-summer-bushfires-in-unprecedented-detail-here-are-6-lessons-to-heed-198989">Black Summer bushfires</a> had direct impacts on half the newly listed species.</p> <h2>Population boom adds to pressures</h2> <p>Australia’s population passed <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-clock-pyramid">27 million</a> in 2023, a stunning increase of 8 million, or 41%, since 2000. Those extra people all needed living space, food, electricity and transport.</p> <p>Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/australias-emissions-projections-2023">have risen by 18% since 2000</a>. Despite small declines in the previous four years, emissions increased again in 2023, mostly due to air travel rebounding after COVID-19.</p> <p>Our emissions per person are the <a href="https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2023">tenth-highest in the world</a> and more than three times those of the average global citizen. The main reasons are our coal-fired power stations, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-passenger-vehicle-emission-rates-are-50-higher-than-the-rest-of-the-world-and-its-getting-worse-222398">inefficient road vehicles</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/11/how-many-cattle-are-there-in-australia-we-may-be-out-by-10-million">large cattle herd</a>.</p> <p>Nonetheless, there are reasons to be optimistic. Many other countries have dramatically <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-gdp-decoupling">reduced emissions without compromising economic growth</a> or quality of life. All we have to do is to finally follow their lead.</p> <p>Our governments have an obvious role to play, but we can do a lot as individuals. We can even save money, by switching to renewable energy and electric vehicles and by eating less beef.</p> <p>Changing our behaviour will not stop climate change in its tracks, but will slow it down over the next decades and ultimately reverse it. We cannot reverse or even stop all damage to our environment, but we can certainly do much better.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225268/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/albert-van-dijk-25318">Albert Van Dijk</a>, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment &amp; Society, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shoshana-rapley-711675">Shoshana Rapley</a>, Research Assistant, Fenner School of Environment &amp; Society, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tayla-lawrie-1517759">Tayla Lawrie</a>, Project Manager, Threatened Species Index, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/on-a-climate-rollercoaster-how-australias-environment-fared-in-the-worlds-hottest-year-225268">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Dean Ingwerson | NSW.gov.au</em></p>

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Melbourne show rollercoaster victim finally wakes

<p>The young woman who was critically injured after being struck by a rollercoaster in Melbourne has finally awoken from her medically induced coma.</p> <p>After spending more than two months hospitalised in an unconscious state, Shylah Rodden, 26, has suffered brain damage and serious injuries to the pelvis, arms, legs and back after being hit by the Rebel Coaster carriage rollercoaster, at the Royal Melbourne Show on September 25.</p> <p>She was struck by the ride, which was travelling 70km/h, while trying to retrieve her phone from underneath the tracks.</p> <p>The hospital has since revealed that since Wednesday November 30 she has awoken and is in a stable condition.</p> <p>A person close to Ms Rodden's family has said that she was "still not out of the woods".</p> <p>Ms Rodden had been showing some signs of improvement, with her condition being downgraded from critical to serious on October 11.</p> <p>At the time she was taken to hospital, doctors told her parents they "haven't seen anything as bad as this for a long time".</p> <p>On the day she was struck, Ms Rodden had been working at a friend's stall at the show when the pair decided to go on a few rides during their break. She is believed to have dropped her phone while on the rollercoaster.</p> <p>Investigators believe she walked under the tracks of the high-speed ride to retrieve the device.</p> <p>WorkSafe is investigating the circumstances behind the tragedy with the assistance of detectives from the Yarra Crime Investigation Unit. The investigation revealed there were no technical issues with the rollercoaster.</p> <p>Shylah's father had previously told Daily Mail Australia that his daughter had suffered life-changing injuries.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

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US comedian cracks cruel ‘jokes’ about rollercoaster victim Shylah Rodden

<p dir="ltr">A US comedian has cracked a series of distasteful jokes about Shylah Rodden, the Melbourne woman who was hit by a rollercoaster last month.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 26-year-old suffered severe facial and brain injuries after being struck by the 70 km/h Rebel Coaster Ride at the Royal Melbourne Show, and she remains in hospital in a serious condition.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is believed she had walked onto the tracks to retrieve her phone when she was hit.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, comedian Anthony Jeselnik seemed to find the situation quite funny while discussing the accident with NFL Network analyst Gregg Rosenthal on their podcast, <em>The Jeselnik &amp; Rosenthal Vanity Project</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This story is absolutely hilarious to me,” Jeselnik said during the episode, titled ‘Your Luck Is Like A Rollercoaster, Baby-Baby’.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I bet no one could believe it. I bet she feels dumb.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Rosenthal then explained how Ms Rodden had only just re-learned how to walk when she was struck, having been involved in a car crash in January 2021 that saw her car collide with a truck and flip over, with Jeselnik bursting into laughter.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now you’re wondering why is this funny to us?” Jeselnik said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Walking onto a rollercoaster track is a bad idea. If you drop your cell phone, ask someone who works there to get your phone for you. Do not jump onto the rollercoaster tracks.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She’d gotten hit by a car a few years ago, had to go through physical therapy to be able to walk again. To celebrate learning to walk again… she goes to an amusement park and immediately gets hit by a rollercoaster</p> <p dir="ltr">“Can you be forgiven because you haven’t been walking around that much that you don’t really know how to walk, and so you think walking onto rollercoaster tracks are fine?</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s bad luck but rollercoasters only go in two directions. It’s hard to get hit by them.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A car, ok anything could have happened, maybe you’re in the street, maybe the car jumped the kerb.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A rollercoaster, that’s your fault every single time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Jeselnik’s comments come amid a growing number taking to social media to criticise Ms Rodden’s actions in the lead-up to the accident, with some claiming that she isn’t a victim and deserves to be in intensive care.</p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, a friend of Ms Rodden has appealed for prayers for the young woman, who he described as having a “heart of gold”.</p> <p dir="ltr"> “Please pray for Shylah Rodden. Shylah Rodden is one of my best friends [and has a] heart of gold. Shyla has always been there for me and is always there for anyone, not just her friends,” Mr Nawar wrote on Facebook.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She has suffered a horrible accident at the Melbourne Show and was put in a induced coma. I don’t know her current status but please ask anyone who sees this to make a small prayer for her and her family, even if it’s [as] small as please God help them heal.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Shylah and her family lost their son/brother a few months ago and were all still grieving. I saw the pain this had on Shylah.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6e63ddfe-7fff-8163-f54e-c4deff582289"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: YouTube / Facebook</em></p>

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Man who filmed rollercoaster incident opens up

<p>A traumatised witness of the rollercoaster accident at Melbourne's Royal Show has spoken out about the moment Shylah Rodden was struck by the ride. </p> <p>Jordan was filming his sister and his partner having fun on the Rebel Coaster ride on Sunday when he captured the tragic moment the 26-year-old was hit by the rollercoaster travelling up to 70km/h.</p> <p>Jordan said he "hasn't slept since" witnessing the horrific accident, as he saw Shylah get dragged halfway up the ride's next loop before falling nine metres to the ground. </p> <p>He said he watched Shylah walk to the track and bend down to retrieve something, all without noticing the rollercoaster hurtling towards her. </p> <p>"It all happened so quickly but so slowly. All of a sudden, I saw someone getting taken up but at the same time I'm thinking 'f**k, my sister, my partner'," he told <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/vic/eyewitness-who-filmed-melbourne-show-rollercoaster-disaster-reveals-what-really-happened-c-8384953" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener"><em>7Ne</em>ws</a>.</p> <p>Ms Rodden remains in a coma with "horrific" facial injuries her family has described as "life-changing".</p> <p>However, the thing that surprised Jordan was how Ms Rodden reacted immediately after she was hit. </p> <p>"I didn't hear her scream. The screams that I heard came from onlookers, I think. It happened so fast," he said.</p> <p>Shylah's father told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11249351/Melbourne-woman-Shylah-Rodden-26-fighting-life-mystery-rollercoaster-tragedy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail Australia</a> he suspects his daughter will be in a coma for a long time, as she battles to overcome her injuries. </p> <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">“Obviously I can't talk to my daughter. She's going to be in a coma for quite a while,” Mr Rodden said.</p> <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">“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.”</p> <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><em>Image credits: 7News / Facebook</em></p>

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Tragic details emerge in rollercoaster incident

<p dir="ltr">New details have emerged about the woman <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/the-screaming-was-so-loud-young-woman-struck-by-roller-coaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was struck by a rollercoaster</a> at Melbourne’s Royal Show as her family hits back at online bullies.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/the-injuries-are-horrific-rollercoaster-victim-identified" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shylah Rodden</a> remains in a critical condition after walking onto a section of the Rebel Coaster ride and being struck by one of the carriages shortly before 6pm on Sunday, suffering severe facial injuries.</p> <p dir="ltr">Since the tragic incident, it has been revealed that the Rodden family lost Shylah’s brother, Jason, less than two months ago.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a social media post dated July 27, Shylah said her “world came crashing down”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Dad sat me down and told me that my brother had passed away," she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He wasn't just my big brother, he was my best friend, my everything, the person I looked up to and inspired to be like.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He taught me so much in life, he showed me the difference between right and wrong and he was never afraid to tell me how he really feels.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It doesn't feel real, I keep thinking you'll call me back."</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking to the media on Monday, Shylah’s father Alan Rodden said he was still unsure as to what to believe about the incident.</p> <p dir="ltr">"There are a lot of stories going around and I don't know which one is true and if someone is covering their tracks," he told the <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11249799/Royal-Melbourne-rollercoaster-incident-Shylah-Rodden-familys-online-abuse-trolls.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Mail</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Rodden said his 26-year-old daughter’s injuries were “horrific” and that she was fighting for her life.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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."</p> <p dir="ltr">Shylah’s sister Caisha told the outlet she was appalled at the online abuse directed at her sister, who is reportedly in a coma.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s sad and disgusting to see the false stories and cover up when my sister is fighting for my life,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">After police alleged she was trying to retrieve her mobile phone when she was hit, critics have said she was in the wrong, and Caisha said that rumours circulating about the details of the accident have caused more pain for her family as they struggle to cope.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Definitely misinformation regarding the accident, which is really sad and causing more distress for our family,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Shylah is in critical condition and we won't know more until later today as we will be discussing with police and giving some eye witness statements.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Caisha also revealed that her sister had been working at the show that day and had been helping at a friend’s stall when she was sent on a break with another worker, with both deciding to take the opportunity to go on some rides.</p> <p dir="ltr">With the incident still under investigation by WorkSafe, Brad Jenkins, the CEO of the Melbourne Royal Show has refused to speculate on details surrounding it, including whether the ride was surrounded by a fence or how Shylah got onto the tracks.</p> <p dir="ltr">"That's a subject for WorkSafe and police. That's part of the investigation. I wouldn't want to comment on that until the investigation goes through the process,” he told <em>ABC Mornings </em>host Virginia Trioli.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Jenkins did say that the operator of the ride was “devastated”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Carnival operators are very close knit,” he added.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The show's about trying to put smiles on people's faces."</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1b3e462a-7fff-e0c4-0ba2-77c12f98fe2a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"The injuries are horrific": Rollercoaster victim identified

<p>The victim of a <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/the-screaming-was-so-loud-young-woman-struck-by-roller-coaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shocking roller coast accident</a> has been identified as Melbourne based woman Shylah Rodden.</p> <p>Ms Rodden, aged 26, remains in intensive care after sustaining horrific injuries in the accident, which remains under investigation.</p> <p>Her father, Alan Ridden, says there is great mystery surrounding the situation. On Monday, police claimed Shylah was struck by the ride at the Royal Melbourne Show while trying to retrieve her mobile phone from the tracks, however eye witnesses claim she had been on the ride.</p> <p>Horrified audience members watched on as the chaos unfolded, with paramedics treating Shylah for serious injuries before she was taken to hospital. Her father suggests these injuries are life-changing.</p> <p>“Obviously I can't talk to my daughter. She's going to be in a coma for quite a while,” Mr Rodden told <em>Daily Mail Australia.</em></p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>One witness, who had been positioned next to the ride, claimed police assertions the woman had been retrieving a phone were not accurate.</p> <p>"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," a woman claimed.</p> <p>"Not from what we witnessed. We were standing right next to the ride when it happened."</p> <p>The witness had taken her young son on the ride shortly before the accident.</p> <p>"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 ," she said.</p> <p>In a statement issued by Victoria Police, investigators claimed the woman may have walked onto the track to try and retrieve a dropped phone.</p> <p>Speaking to ABC Mornings host Virginia Trioli on Monday, Show CEO Brad Jenkins refused to say whether there was a fence around the ride or how high that fence was.</p> <p>The incident remains under investigation and anyone who witnessed it are urged to call crime stoppers.</p> <p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

News

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Rollercoasters pushing the limits of size (and safety)

<p>Universal's Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has tormented many big and tall riders who discover at the last moment that their journey aboard the new attraction is forbidden because they don't fit in the "enchanted benches."</p> <p>The uncomfortable scene is a familiar one to anybody who has ever visited a theme park: The overweight rider becomes increasingly embarrassed as the ride attendant pushes and shoves with all his might on the over-the-shoulder restraint that stubbornly refuses to click closed. Everybody waiting in line knows what comes next: the walk of shame.</p> <p>"The walk of shame is an embarrassing experience," said Mike Galvan, who penned the Big Boy's Guide to Roller Coasters. "I've been there many times. It's disheartening."</p> <p>Galvan likens the straight back and flat seat on Forbidden Journey to an "old wooden chair" that provides little wiggle room for larger riders.</p> <p>"When the over-the-shoulder restraint comes down, if part of you is hanging over, whether it be your gut, your thighs or your shoulders, you're going to be very uncomfortable," Galvan said.</p> <p>While there are no height or weight maximums for Forbidden Journey, the safety restraints must be able to close properly in order for guests to ride, Universal officials said.</p> <p>Like many theme park attractions, Forbidden Journey has a tester seat near the entrance for visitors who might be worried they won't fit on the ride. But as big and tall riders will tell you, those tester seats often can be misleading.</p> <p>"I do not trust the accuracy of the test seats, no matter the park," Galvan said. "I can only suspect that the seat belts on the test seats are intentionally short to minimise the potential of riders getting the 'walk of shame' at the station. I've also had the opposite happen, where I made the test seats but was rejected from the actual ride."</p> <p>Galvan, 31, is a regular contributor to SFGAmWorld, a fan site for Six Flags Great America outside Chicago. In 2007, he was so overweight that he stopped going to theme parks because he no longer could fit on the rides. Over the next three years, he lost more than 59kg so he could return to his passion: roller coasters.</p> <p>Anybody who has ever been kicked off a ride because he or she was too big will tell you that theme park attractions are not designed for people who are heavier or taller than average.</p> <p>All theme parks have euphemistic names for "exceptional sized riders" or "guests of larger size" — those who are too fat or too tall to fit safely in an attraction seat. Some ride-makers even try to make accommodations with "big boy seats."</p> <p><strong>How big is too big?</strong></p> <p>Cedar Fair, the parent company of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, and 10 other amusement parks, offers very specific size requirements for "guests of larger size." Cedar Fair warns that men over 1.9m or 102kg with a 40-inch waistline or 52-inch chest "may not be accommodated on some of our rides." The park operator says women over 91kg who wear a size 18 or larger could have trouble fitting on some rides.</p> <p>At Ohio's Cedar Point, some coasters such as Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and GateKeeper have a 2m height maximum. Ohio's Kings Island institutes height maximums for a number of rides, including Firehawk (1.9m), Invertigo (2m) and Delirium (1.9m). Tennessee's Dollywood has 2m height maximums on a number of rides, including the Wild Eagle wing coaster. The Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif., has a height maximum of 6 foot 5 inches.</p> <p>Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia sets aside two rows of seats on the Alpengeist and Griffon coasters for riders with "chest measurements exceeding 52 inches."</p> <p>Splashin' Safari water park at Holiday World in Indiana uses a walk-on scale to ensure the maximum weight on the six-passenger Mammoth rafts doesn't exceed 476kg.</p> <p>Disney parks have no height or weight maximums on any attractions, according to officials. Disneyland famously replaced the 1964 boats on It's a Small World because the increasing waistlines of Americans were causing them to run aground  —  an assertion reported by MiceChat and vigorously denied by Disney officials.</p> <p>Theme park officials typically respond with prepared statements when asked about making accommodations for "riders with unique physical attributes" (such as this one from Six Flags): "We work closely with ride manufacturers to incorporate safety systems that are designed to accommodate people of average physical stature and body proportions. We require that all seatbelts, lap bars and shoulder harnesses be positioned and fastened properly. Due to the rider restraint system, guests of a larger size may not be accommodated on some rides."</p> <p>As has been well documented, Americans are getting fatter. The average weight for adult men has risen from 75kg in 1960 to 88kg pounds in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average weight for women increased from 63kg to 75kg pounds during the same period.</p> <p>Addressing the issue is complicated for ridemakers in part because every rider carries weight differently — with problem areas ranging from the hips, waist and stomach to the chest and shoulders. For big riders, coaster rideability varies from park to park.</p> <p>One of the biggest concerns for larger riders is what Galvan calls the "seat belt lottery."</p> <p>"It's absolutely amazing how from one row to another, the length of the seat belt will vary," Galvan said. "The only reason I can think for this irregularity would be off-season maintenance. Some rides are more egregious than others in this department."</p> <p>Older coasters by Arrow Dynamics and Schwarzkopf tend to be the easiest to ride for larger riders, according to Galvan's Big Boy's Guide to Roller Coasters. Some Bolliger &amp; Mabillard rides can be tight fits, while others offer rows with larger seats, Galvan said. Vekoma, Gerstlauer and Mack Rides typically present few problems, while Premier and Intamin often prove difficult for bigger riders, he said. Intamin's suspended launch coasters such as Wicked Twister at Cedar Point and Volcano at Virginia's Kings Dominion cause the most problems for big riders, Galvan said.</p> <p>"The issue with these rides is the seat belt and the lack of an audible 'click' when pulling the restraint down," Galvan said. "Not to mention that you have the seat several feet off the ground, so you have to tippy toe or jump up to get into the seat. Depending on your body dimensions, you might not be able to maneuver yourself to get into the seat properly."</p> <p>There are no industry standards among ridemakers and amusement parks when it comes to accommodating bigger riders. Some parks require two locking clicks to secure a lap bar or over-the-shoulder restraint on a ride, while others insist on three clicks. Seat belt lengths can vary from ride to ride and row to row.</p> <p>"Most manufacturers, if not all, hoping to do business in the US are now offering optional 'jumbo' seats to buyers to fit larger adults," said Bob Dean of Florida-based Leisure Labs, which represents Mack Rides, Great Coasters International and Mondial.</p> <p><strong>Matter of safety</strong></p> <p>Parks cite safety concerns whenever a large rider is prohibited from a ride. In recent years, there have been several high-profile accidents involving larger riders being thrown from a theme park ride</p> <p>A man who weighed more than 136kg was seriously injured in 1999 when he was ejected from the Superman coaster at the now-defunct Six Flags Darien Lake. Six Flags argued that the man was too large for the ride's lap bar restraint to engage.</p> <p>Investigators said the rider's weight was a contributing factor in the death of a 132kg woman who fell out of the Perilous Plunge water ride at Knott's Berry Farm in 2001.</p> <p>In 2004, a 1.6m, 104kg man fell to his death from the Superman roller coaster at Six Flags New England. A state report found the overweight man's girth prevented a T-bar restraint from fitting firmly.</p> <p>What are your views on this topic? Share in the comments below.</p> <p><em>Written by Brady Macdonald. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz.</span></strong></a> </em></p>

International Travel

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With a 65-metre free-fall drop, new rollercoaster set to break records

<p>A new rollercoaster set for production next year is set to break records globally.</p> <p>“The Valravn” will reside at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky Ohio, measuring in at over one-km and boasting a 65-metre free-fall drop which will hit a top speed of 120km per hour.</p> <p>Designed by Swiss company Bolliger and Mabillard, the rollercoaster is set to break an impressive 10 records, including fastest dive, longest ride and most inversions, and will open in the winter of 2016.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/09/funny-kids-notes-about-running-away/">6 hilarious notes where kids threaten to run away</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/08/harmonious-multigenerational-living/">Top tips for harmonious multigenerational living</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/family/2015/08/new-favourite-childhood-book-covers/">Your favourite childhood books now look different</a></span></em></strong></p>

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