Her dad said she has life changing injuries including brain damage
The victim of a shocking rollercoaster accident which left them in intensive care has been identified – though details about what actually happened remain a mystery.
Shylah Rodden, 26, is in a coma in an ICU after the incident at the Royal Melbourne Show in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday.
Shylah Rodden, 26, was carried along by a rollercoaster before a horror plunge to the ground at the Melbourne Royal Show, shocking witnesses > https://t.co/7xYGjjNQv8 pic.twitter.com/t4TELjVYJf
— Herald Sun (@theheraldsun) September 26, 2022
Paramedics are said to have treated Shylah for serious facial injuries before taking her to hospital in a critical condition.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Shylah’s father Alan Rodden said his daughter’s “horrific”, life changing injuries include brain damage, as well as damage to her pelvis, arms, legs, back and neck.
“Obviously I can’t talk to my daughter,” he said, “She’s going to be in a coma for quite a while”
“There’s hardly anything that’s not broken,” he added.
Rodden said there are multiple stories going around about what actually happened, and that he is unsure if someone is “covering their tracks”.
BREAKING: a part of the Melbourne Royal Show has been closed off and ride goers have been left stranded on a roller coaster as ambulance crews attend to a young girl believed to have sustained serious head injuries. @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/Lj7gMgaLak
— Sara Jones (@SaraJones_7) September 25, 2022
On Monday, Victoria Police claimed Shylah “may” have walked onto the track to try and retrieve her mobile phone when she was struck by the ride. But eyewitnesses claim the rollercoaster crashed into the 26-year-old and took her 9 metres into the air before she plunged to the ground.
The publication reports that multiple people claiming to be eye witnesses have taken to social media to share their accounts of what happened.
One alleged eye witness said: “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 claimed: “My daughter was there too and they have called Crimestoppers as they felt like she had fallen from the ride too.”
One witness, who said they were positioned next to the ride, claimed the police force’s statement about Shylah retrieving a phone was not accurate.
The woman claimed: “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.”
A spokesperson for The Royal Melbourne Show told Daily Mail Australia it was working with authorities to ascertain how the tragedy happened. Victoria Police and WorkSafe are continuing the investigation.
A WorkSafe Victoria spokesperson told JOE: “WorkSafe is investigating.”
JOE also contacted Victoria Police and the organisers of the Royal Melbourne Show for comment.
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