Horrifying Video Shows Foot 'Bent in Half' by Slingshot Ride
Even as safe as they purport to be, even sometimes amusement park rides can go wrong, whether due to technical difficulties, rider or operator error, or in the case of one young woman, having her foot in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Slingshot ride in Surfers Paradise, Australia is described on its website as being the "thrill of a lifetime" that launches riders into air at speeds of up to 160km per hour. But instead of a thrill, 22-year-old Pippa Sutherland got herself a trip to the hospital when her bare left foot became caught on the metal stopper on the ride.
Sutherland cheekily posted video of the incident to TikTok last month, set to the popular "Yup, that's me" audio soundbite that originated from the NBC sitcom My Name is Earl. In the clip, she can be seen being wheeled into the hospital and later emerging wearing a walking orthopedic shoe brace, before the video cuts to the gristly injury that got her into the situation.
@pippasutherland ⚠️ TW: bent foot ⚠️ Surprised my foot is still in one piece after that ???????? #fyp #viral #injury #accident #slingshot #rides #goldcoast #surfersparadise #australia #feet #bendy
♬ Originalton - POV’s
As the ride lowers down—ostensibly after shooting Sutherland and her friend into the stratosphere—the big toe of her dangling left foot gets caught on the stopper, forcing her entire foot to turn inward at an entirely unpleasant-looking 90-degree angle, while her face contorts in pain.
Days later, after the video began to go viral, Sutherland posted an unedited version, in which her screams could be heard as the injury plays out in real-time. "Ow, oh my god, my foot! My foot!” she could be heard shrieking as the seat continues to move down and forward.
@pippasutherland Replying to @Stan ⚠️ TW: bent foot ⚠️ read caption! Before you all ask, no I don’t go on rides often ???????? But my legs were tucked at the start because I was saying to my friends “this is what my legs were like in the air” (because I was tensing my legs during the ride lol). Once again we were not instructed to keep our legs out at any point, my foot was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… And as you can see my foot was not resting on the stopper, from the point of contact it was stuck. Not suing, the staff were lovely and sincerely sorry for what happened ????????
♬ original sound - pippa
In the caption to the video, which has since been viewed over five million times, Sutherland explained what happened.
"Before you all ask, no I don’t go on rides often. But my legs were tucked at the start because I was saying to my friends 'this is what my legs were like in the air,'" she wrote, adding that she had been tensing her legs during the ride.
"Once again we were not instructed to keep our legs out at any point," Sutherland continued. "My foot was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as you can see, my foot was not resting on the stopper, from the point of contact it was stuck."
She added that she wasn't planning to pursue legal acton, and that the "staff were lovely and sincerely sorry for what happened." Be that as it may, we have a feeling it might be a long time before Sutherland embarks on another amusement park ride.