Girl's Feet Severed on Superman Ride

June 22, 2007 — -- The scene went from thrill ride to horror show in an instant Thursday at Six Flags Amusement Park in Louisville, Ky., when a 13-year-old girl's feet were severed on a ride.

This year alone, there have been 24 accidents in theme parks, raising questions about safety in amusement parks.

The girl was among those riding the Superman Tower of Power, a ride controlled by cables that drops nearly 200 feet at 54 mph.

"All of a sudden I heard a big khew, and the cable broke off," one witness said. "I saw it go up, then it came back around and hit a lot of people. I heard it wrapped around one girl's legs."

The cables caught the teen around her lower body, severing both her legs above the ankle.

"People came out crying and freaked out and everything," an onlooker said.

The girl was rushed into surgery after the bloody incident. There was no word on her condition this morning.

Six Flags is investigating why the cables on the ride snapped, saying in a statement, "We have been in contact with both the hospital and the girl's family and will continue to closely monitor the situation and provide whatever assistance we can."

This isn't the first time things have gone wrong at the Kentucky park. Eight years ago, a malfunctioning roller coaster stranded riders 60 feet in the air. The rescue took more than three hours.

Amusement park safety is still a work in progress. In 2005 there were close to 1,800 accidents on rides around the country.

Just last month, riders were left hanging upside down on a roller coaster at a theme park in Arkansas.

A similar incident happened at a Six Flags in Vallejo, Calif., as riders endured four hours suspended 70 feet in the air. Six people were hospitalized

The Superman Tower of Power remains shut down until investigators determine what went wrong.