Police ask for visitors' films to aid inquiry into leisure park tragedy
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Detectives investigating the death of a teenager who fell head first from a white-water ride said yesterday that they wanted to examine photo-graphs and film footage taken by visitors to the leisure park where the tragedy happened.
Detectives investigating the death of a teenager who fell head first from a white-water ride said yesterday that they wanted to examine photo-graphs and film footage taken by visitors to the leisure park where the tragedy happened.
Hayley Williams, 16, plunged to her death as the Hydro ride she was was about to make a near-vertical descent. Yesterday, the £1.7m ride at Oakwood Leisure Park, in Pembrokeshire, west Wales - billed as the "fastest and wettest water coaster" in Europe - remained closed .
The mother of a 10-year-old boy who was also injured in the accident said she hoped automatic photographs taken from the ride might also offer clues. Sian Rothwell was sitting in the park's café while her two eldest children enjoyed the ride when her seven-year-old son David ran in to say there had been a "big accident".
"My heart just sank because I knew Martin and Joanna were there. When I got there, I could see them strapped into the car but Martin's face was covered in blood. I could see though that while he had been injured in some way he was alert and moving about ... At the same time, I knew someone else had been hurt worse."
She said that her son was sitting directly in front of Hayley and was most probably hit on the head as she fell out of the car. "I really want to know how something like this could have happened," Mrs Rothwell, from Swansea, added.
Amid speculation as to how Hayley came free of a safety belt and restraining bar, the police and Health and Safety Executive continued their investigation yesterday. The teenager had been taking an Easter break with her mother Beverley and sister Hannah, 13, when she fell 100ft, hitting a support pillar on the way down.
Fellow riders dived into the water to pull her out and she was airlifted to hospital but died later. Martin was treated for a two-inch cut to the head and later released. "Moments after getting off the ride, we saw a girl lying motionless on the grass. Those moments are etched on my mind," Rebecca Davies, a witness, said.
Keith Brown, chair of the governors at Hayley's school - St Albans RC in Pontypool - said the popular and ambitious year 11 pupil was not the type to fool around on a ride. He said: "I cannot comprehend what happened. I'm at a complete loss to explain this tragedy.
"We are absolutely devastated by what we have heard. She was a very talented singer and musician. She had a lovely voice. She always took part in school productions and was the lead role in our play last year."
Mr Brown said that a special service would be held at the start of the new term on Monday with counsellors on hand to help Hayley's classmates.
As the family was being cared for by police yesterday, their neighbours in the south Wales town described Hayley's distraught father Alan telephoning to break the news. "I dread them coming home. I don't know what I'm going to say to them. The parents, they doted on both of [the daughters]," Dawson Powell said.
Oakwood had not had a serious accident since it opened 17 years ago. Yesterday, its operations manager, John Doona, said: "All our rides are subject to rigorous daily testing and are certified by independent safety consultants every year."
However, it emerged yesterday that a woman died at a theme park in California on an very similar ride in 2001. LoriMason, aged 40, fell 115 feet from the Perilous Plunge , which was made by the same Swiss manufacturer as the Oakwood ride. Investigators concluded Mason's weight, which was 290 lbs, may have stopped her safety harness working but warned a small child might also be vulnerable on the ride.