'I was thrown from a fairgound ride at 60mph, I'm lucky to be alive'
A woman says she's 'lucky to be alive' after she was thrown from a fairground ride at 60mph. Jade Harrison, 27, was was flung from the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair when a metal bar across her lap gave way. The preschool teacher from Hull was left with a broken jaw and struggling to breathe.
Jade received a five-figure settlement from the insurers of the ride's owners, Taylor's Funfairs, who admitted liability for the accident. She visited the fair every year with her friends, but had never ridden the attraction before.
'I wasn't planning on going on any rides,' Jade said. 'But my friend wanted to go on the Airmaxx 360. I didn't want to be left on my own.'
The Airmaxx 360 spins full circles while lifting and dropping individual carriages, reaching speeds of up to 60mph. 'I watched it go around and I thought no that's alright I'll go on that. A minute and a half into the ride, Jade said she heard a strange clicking sound from her seat restraint, but brushed it off when her friend said theirs had done the same. I didn't really panic.'
Then the carriage began to shift and changed position. 'I just remember thinking I don't like that, I don't like that. And then it was too late. As soon as the ride started bouncing the bar just gave away."
Jade was hurled from the ride, hitting another attraction mid-air before crashing to the ground. She blacked out instantly.
'All I remember is the feeling of flipping like you do in a dream when you wake up startled. When I came to I was laid on the floor next to the ride but everyone was just around me and I was a bit confused. I kind of forgot where I was and what I was doing so it took me a minute to realise what had happened.
'Then obviously I started panicking and everyone was telling me to calm down. It felt like ages for the paramedics to get there but in reality it was only about two minutes.'
She was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary where she was found to have a broken jaw requiring surgery and metal plates. She also suffered serious nerve damage to her right thigh, which remains numb to this day, as well as internal bruising to her chest, facial injuries and damaged teeth that needed removal and repair.
'The most painful part was my chest,' she said. 'I couldn't sit up or take a deep breath. When I got home, I couldn't get out of bed without my partner's help.'
Jade spent four days in hospital and was unable to return to work for nearly a year after the accident in October 2019. She continued to undergo dental work into 2021 and says the mental recovery took just as long.
'I was in denial in the beginning. It was hard for me to accept that it happened to me. I would constantly tell myself I'm not going to think about it, I'm not going to think about it. But by doing that I was just delaying pain.
'When I think about it deeply and I think how differently it could have gone I think I'm lucky to be alive.'
'When I came off my ride I hit the ride next to me. They even said if I had hit that ride differently I would be dead. There was no way of surviving. Luckily I hit the ride the way that I did so I hit the carriage, rather than the floor or anything else.'
Jade received a five-figure settlement from the insurers of the ride's owners, Taylor's Funfairs, who admitted liability for the accident. A criminal investigation by the Health and Safety Executive was later dropped in 2023.
The report found that the safety restraints of the Airmaxx 360 were 'inadequate'. She hasn't returned to a fairground since.
'I would never go on a fairground ride again.' she said. 'I've been on the teacups with my nephew, but that's about as far as I'll go. Anything where my feet leave the ground isn't happening.'
Now living with the lasting effects of her accident, Jade says the incident still impacts her life, six years on. 'It's still a prevalent factor in my life. When I look in the mirror I always notice my leg, my right thigh that is damaged.
'That's quite a big insecurity to me. That's the main thing that reminds me.'
Jade is unable to have further surgery on her leg, as it is classed as cosmetic surgery, meaning she will be unable to have paid time off work. She believes more must be done to prevent similar accidents.
'I definitely think something needs to be done to stop this happening. It just doesn't make sense.'
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