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Accidents Involving Injury at Kings Dominion
Official U.S. federal and state data on theme park accidents is almost nonexistent. That's why Theme Park Insider users are creating this visitor-maintained database of theme park accidents--to give public at least some information about attraction safety records.
Do you know of, or have been part of, an accident involving injury at Kings Dominion? Report it to Theme Park Insider.
Verified Incidents
(Even though these incidents have been verified, individual reports might contain the opinion of the persons submitting them.)
6/23/2006 - Volcano: The Blast Coaster - Submitted by robert on 6/24/2006
Two people suffered minor injuries when a train on the Volcano coaster stalled and rolled back after leaving the loading station. The 15 riders were stranded on the track, more than 10 feet above the ground. Emergency personnel were called to free the riders using fire equipment, which took almost two hours to get the last rider off. Two people were hospitalized, one boy for a leg injury and a man for head injuries.
Click here if you have additional information.
Follow-up:
I am acctually the wife of the man who was injured on the Volcano this past weekend. Most reports of what happened according to the news are either incorrect or misinformed. We'd been to the park all day since they opened and were a little disappointed because they delayed the opening of the rides until a thunderstorm passed. Once the rides opened we rode a few including the new "Italian Job" coaster, which has the same launch system as Volcano. It was hot and muggy and I was starting to get a headache when my husband wanted to get on the Volcano. I decided I didnt want to go so he went in line alone.
After 45 min of waiting in line, he finally made it to the ride and noticed an empty seat on the current train and asked if he could jump on. The reopened the gates and let him on. I saw him get on out of turn but wasnt to concerned. After the first launch, there was a loud bang and the ride stopped.
The park came out and told me that he was ok but he had a small cut on his forehead and was going to the hospital. They then proceeded to keep me at the park with no transportation to the hospital (my husband had the car keys) for 2 1/2 hrs after the accident. Finally they took me to the hospital, where I found out he had sustained two cuts to his forehead and a fractured skull.
He said that all he remembered was the first launch and how exciting it was. When he awoke, he was covered in blood and could not see out of his right eye. After a few minutes, his vision came back, but he had severe double vision.
At the hospital, they determined through CAT scans that both the outter and inner layer of bone in his skull were fractured and depressed 1/2 inch. The depressed bone was pushing down on his eye causing him restricted movement and double vision.
He had surgery on Monday afternoon at MCV in Richmond. The surgeon had to make an incision from ear to ear accross his scalp in his hairline and peel down his face to get to the damaged skull. Miraculously he sustained no brain or eye damaged, which mystified the surgeon. He did lose a sinus on his right side above his eye due to extreme broken skull, but the major part was repaired and secured with plates and screws. He is making a full recovery with, other than incisions, no obvious physical scaring.
Paramount was more than sympathetic to our needs and made sure that we had everything we needed while we were in Richmond.
We are so gratefull for the prayers of our family and friends and are gratefull for the miracle that he is still with us today.
He was able to return to my parents house in Delaware on wednesday where we will remain until he feels well enough to make the 2700 mile journey back to Utah. -- Submitted by swood83 on 7/1/2006
Thank you for the update. Most of us knew they don't keep you in the hospital for more than a day for just stitches. -- Submitted by kenmartin23220 on 7/10/2006
I'm so glad to hear that he will be okay. I'm a friend with you're father (in-law??) at work. I knew about the accident but I didn't want to post anything on his condition without your approval so as to keep the matter private. I hope that he continues to heal with out any complications! -- Submitted by djslacker101 on 7/14/2006
8/23/1999 - Shockwave - Submitted by Name Withheld on 5/16/2001
A college student was killed on the ride. Reports say he was messing around.
For more information about this incident, visit http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/26/rollercoasters.01/
Click here if you have additional information.
Follow-up:
ive heard about that, the restraignts were surprisingly easy to get out of and apparantly he was trying to get out and fell off the ride.
since then they have added an extra seatbelt holding the restraignts together -- Submitted by cowlad on 1/25/2007
7/8/1999 - Volcano: The Blast Coaster - Submitted by robert on 5/7/2002
A rider was left with brain damage after suffering a traumatic head injury on the ride.
For more information about this incident, visit http://www.house.gov/markey/iss_parkrides_list020507c.pdf
Click here if you have additional information.
8/7/1990 - Whitewater Canyon - Submitted by teacher1053 on 7/30/2001
three people were injured when knocked out of a raft on the ride. One was critically injured.
Click here if you have additional information.
Follow-up:
i was employed by the park at the time, and was aware of the incident..it is a matter of public record and i have provided a link to a brief description of it. the passengers in question were standing, and not following any of the "pre-ride" rules...and the response of the park safety teams as well as the ride operators were to say the least, exceptional. [For more information about this incident, visit http://www2.richmond.com/localguide/themeparks/kd_safety.cfm] -- Submitted by Name Withheld on 4/20/2002
I remember the incident well, as I happen to be one of the passengers in the raft. There was no one standing in the raft. I was seatbelted in when the raft flipped. We caught up with the raft in front of us in a tight turn and got wedged in. When the waves started to push the first raft through, our raft rode up on the edge and flipped over. It was a freak accident, but we were following the rules. The only thing true in the other follow up is the response. The response time was exceptional. The park had divers in the water before we reached the next gate. Things could have been a lot worse. I was in ICU at MCV for 5 days, but the KD staff was beyond helpful. They even brought real food to the hospital for me. -- Submitted by beardednewt on 6/8/2007
I worked at Kings Dominion from 1990-1994; 1990 -1993 at the White Water Canyon and 1994 at the Water Park. I was working the day the incident took place working in the main station loading passengers onto the ride. All stations on the ride are connected by headphone communications, and when the tower one operator radioed in that we had a boat flip over, the shift supervisor yelled at me that we had a boat flip over, at which point I took off in a dead sprint for the second tower/gate to get to the people and boat. The supervisor hit the kill switch which currents the current to the ride which brings the boats to a stand still. When I reached the 2nd gate a guest from the flipped over boat yelled to me that he thought his sister was still trapped under the boat; at which time I entered the water. I am the one in the water that the other member of this forum is referring to. I dove under the overturned boat (very dark) and felt around for someone, but there was no one there. When I resurfaced for air some other guests yelled to me that the girl had gotten out. At this time there were other employees in the water and some emergency personnel were beginning to arrive. I then went over to the opposite side of the trough and rendered first aid to 2 guests, one with internal injuries and the other with a deep cut to his arm (I took my shirt off to help control the bleeding). By this time EMS was on the scene and they began to take over control of the situation. The quick actions of the supervisor to send me to the 2nd gate and to shut down the power helped prevent further injuries. This was a random accident that had nothing to do with the guests ‘behavior on the raft. Two rafts did catch up to each other which caused them to wedge a narrow point in the ride, and the force of the water flipped over one of the boats. King’s Dominion does and did have in place safety procedures for the ride, but since the boats are not a track, but rather free floating 1:1,000,000 accidents can happen. I mentioned earlier that I used my shirt to stop the bleeding of a guest. This is only relevant because since I did not have on my uniform top EMS personnel thought I was a guest in shock that was claiming to be an employee so I got herded with the injured guests instead of the employees as the situation began to resolve itself. This is how the incident happened as I was directly involved in not only the incident, but all the debriefing and counseling for the whole White Water Canyon Team that the park did after the incident. After that incident we even went and got tee-shirts made that we wore around the park, depicting a Raft, our names (on shark fins), with the Logo “White Water Canyon Crew…Tried and True”. Hope this adds some clarification to this incident. Thanks Will -- Submitted by WTJ06 on 8/19/2007
That's wild. I actually got chills reading your account, Will. No complaints whatsoever. I just wanted to Thank You for your response here and your response time at the park. My brother was the one with the deep cut on his arm. I was in MCV for drowning (more or less). The guy with internal injuries suffered a ruptured pancreas, spleen, and kidney. We owe you and the EMT's a lot more than a thank you. -- Submitted by beardednewt on 8/29/2007
I was also employed at Kings Dominion during this time. I first worked on the Grizzly coaster and later moved to a position as Foreman of Rides Department Training, where I was responsible for the hiring, initial training, and placement of seasonal staff on each ride in the department. I offer my input here to also verify Will's comments (he and I became very close friends while working at the park) and to point out the park's efforts to provide the safest experience for their guests. I am confident they continue to maintain high standards for safety. The park has always taken the safety of its guests most seriously and specific training is provided to those people who work each ride to make sure they are prepared to handle every situation. Everyone should feel very safe at Kings Dominion knowing that the employees on those rides, while they are mostly young people, are trained, tested, and (in the case of water rides or the water park) certified to perform their jobs. The crew of White Water Canyon that summer did an outstanding job and I am sure the current staff at the park is equal in their ability and dedication to guest safety. While park ownership has changed over the years, many of the park's full-time managers have been there a long time, some since the early 70's. These are the key people who have continued to instill the policies, procedures and standards that make the park such a great place to take our families. DR -- Submitted by CDR93 on 8/13/2008
its nice to know that the park operators are getting the well training for if the needs should arise and make the parks safer for the guest -- Submitted by banditt on 6/23/2009
Unverified Reports
10/11/2009 - Hurler - Submitted by milygu on 10/12/2009
I hurt myself riding the Hurler Roller Coaster, located in Kings Dominion, VA.I sat close to the back seats, I was in the left side and my wife was in my right side. After the first big hill there is a right curve. It throwed me to the left and my left ribs hit the left side of the seat. After that strong hit I couldn't breath, that was very painful, but at the mean time I vend myself against my wife, (to my right side). I was just trying to hold my breath because it was too much pain. When the ride stop I asked to one of the associates to give sometime, because I couldn't move. I let them know what had just happened and he offered me to call for medical aid, but I told him that the pain was probably go away and at the mean time I was trying to catch my breath. I started walking downstairs (to get out of the ride area), and the pain was increasing, so my wife help me to get to the medical office. They checked me out, gave some ice to put on my ribs, and the nurse told me that her concern was that may be a broken rib or a puncture in my lung. She made a report of what I didn't get a copy. She also told me that she was going to call me to follow up. Today is Monday Oct-12, 2009 (9:15 pm), and here I'm, I have difficult breathing, I can't move my left arm because my whole left side of my ribs hurts a lot. So, tomorrow I'm going to see my doctor, because I am getting concern about this pain.
In conclusion, I couldn't enjoy yesterday because after that incident I couldn't do much. I was just slowly walking around with my wife, because I have 3 teenagers that where having fun and I didn't want to ruin our about 5 hours trip. We even went to the Country Inn Hotel for about 3 hours to rest a while (I got into the whirpool, to try if the hot water will help with the pain).
OBSERVATION: I think, if they change the seats to a cushioned taller seat, with a type "car seatbelt" would help to prevent back, side and neck injuries. Good luck to the future riders.
This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.
3/31/2007 - THE MARY GO ROUND - Submitted by oclogger on 5/30/2007
A LITTLE BOY PUSHED HIS LITTLE SISTER OFF THE MARY GO ROUND AND SHE BROKE HER RIB ARM AND LEG.
This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.
5/19/2006 - Rebel Yell - Submitted by rct1113 on 7/4/2006
I rode the backwards train and this ride was so bumpy! When i got off, my back was hurting and i coudn't bend. it doesnt hurt anymore, but they need to smooth it down QUICK.
This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.
Follow-up:
Though both the Rebel Yell going backwards and forward may be a little rough, the closer you sit in the front the less rough. It is one of my favorite rides and is much harder on older people than younger. -- Submitted by pinkrose on 8/13/2007
8/25/2004 - Sponge Bob Square Pants - Submitted by Name Withheld on 9/30/2004
A 3 year old girl fell from the moving taxi jam ride. She was riding and fell from the ride, she was not properly secured in the seat.
For more information about this incident, visit http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?s=2215389
If you have additional information that can confirm, clarify or refute any of these reports, please e-mail the editor! (Please don't forget to include the attraction's name in your message.)
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