Amost a year ago, Kaitlyn Lassiter’s feet were severed off in an ride accident at a Six Flags Park in her native Kentucky. At the time, she thought she "was going to die," as the severing cable initially wrapped around her neck. Instead, it broke off both her feet, though one was later reattached. Later she reported that people teased her and boys no longer called.
Now she’s with Massachussetts Congressman Ed Markey in Washington DC, fighting to close a loophole that has prevented federal authorities from regulating amusement park safety since 1981. Today Kaitlyn Lassiter is 14. According to local NBC affiliate LEX18, she said that the "accident has affected my life dramatically. I won’t be the person I was before because now I’m scared."
To change the system, Congressman Markey has proposed bill HR 2320, which will give the Consumer Product Safety Commission authority over amusement ride regulation. It would allot $500,000 years in federal spending towards the purpose for the CPSC.
LEX18 features a video of Miss Lassiter speaking, saying, "I fear for my life when I get in a car, I fear for my life when I get on an elevator. It’s hard for me to live my days like I used to."
The Lassiter family has filed a suit against Kentucky Kingdom, the Six Flags Park. Kaitlyn was on the Superman Tower of Power when the accident occurred. The teenage ride operator heard screaming but assumed it was the typical excited screams of park guests.