This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A 14-year-old girl was taken to hospital after she fell 25ft from a ride at a New York state amusement park and was caught in the outstretched arms of onlookers.

Two park-goers, Matthew Howard, 47, and his 21-year-old daughter, Leeann Winchel, caught the girl, from Greenwood, Delaware, who was taken to Albany Medical Center in stable condition and with no serious injuries, Warren County sheriff’s officials said.

Howard was leaving Six Flags Great Escape Amusement Park, 55 miles north of Albany, with his family when he heard someone screaming for help. He looked up to see a young girl dangling about 25ft off the ground from a slow-moving gondola ride. The girl’s little brother sat next to her in the green two-person pod, crying hysterically and saying he couldn’t hold on.

Howard and Winchell positioned themselves under the girl as the ride stopped and security came running. A crowd gathered, many filming, others calling for help.

“I said: ‘It’s ‘OK! It’s OK to let go, I’ll catch you, honey,”’ said Howard.

The girl lost her grip and fell to where Howard and Winchell, arms outstretched, waited with a few other people. The two took the brunt of the girl’s fall, tumbling to the ground themselves. They and others carried the girl to where emergency workers later arrived to help her.

Howard, a contractor from Schenectady, was treated for a minor back injury.

“I couldn’t let that little girl die,” he said on Sunday. “No one wants to put himself underneath a body like that, but I couldn’t stand by and watch.”

Winchell, who is applying to be a nurse, said she and her father visited the girl on Sunday at the hospital and she was in good spirits. Her little brother was shaken but uninjured, she said. They didn’t know how the girl had fallen out of the ride.

“I’m just glad we could be there to help,” Winchell said. “We were in the right place at the right time.”

The gondola, which was stopped by an operator after getting word of a rider in distress, had been higher up. The scene was caught on video by Loren Lent, from Glenville. He said on Sunday that his 10-year-old daughter and wife were on the ride and watched from high above as the girl fell.

“My daughter was just traumatized,” he said. “She was crying for about a half-hour after.”

Lent said he thought it took too long for park employees to stop the ride and render aid. He said the ride has no seatbelt, and just a bar across to hold patrons inside.

“I’ll never let my family on that ride again,” he said.

The park said in a statement that the safety of guests was a top priority.

“There does not appear to be any malfunction of the ride, but we have closed the attraction until a thorough review can be completed,” a park official said.

On Sunday, park officials said the ride had been cleared for operation, but would remain closed.

“We are reviewing our internal procedures to ensure the safety and security of our guests and team members,” park officials said.