Accidents

Theme parks and roller coasters are statistically very, very, very safe.
Out of the millions of people who ride the thousands of rides every year, there are only a small handful of incidents. You are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident while driving to an amusement park than having one at a park. The rarity of accidents is one reason the media reports them, as with plane crashes.

Every important element of a ride is inspected regularly, and every ride is tested daily without passengers before it opens. A ride might not open, or a safety system might activate, if an imperfection is present.

For theme parks to operate, they must obtain insurance, and one stipulation is that their rides are frequently inspected and signed off by a strict Health & Safety governing body. Every theme park does what it can to prevent accidents because the negative press would be bad for business.

The majority of these incidents occurred at local funfairs and carnivals, or at water parks. Having said all that, theme park accidents still happen…

Click the entries for more information, photos & videos.

Accidents

Accidents Theme parks and roller coasters are statistically very, very, very safe.Out of the millions of people who ride the thousands of rides every year,

July 24, 2026 - A couple suffered minor injuries when a slingshot ride cable snapped.
July 23, 2026 - The classic wooden coaster derailed, causing severe damage to the track, but no injuries were reported.
July 20, 2026 - A woman was thrown off a custom-built roller coaster at a local funfair.
July 20, 2026 - A 19-year-old ride operator was seriously injured when he was struck in the head by the revolving kiddie ride.
July 20, 2026 - A child was found unresponsive in the pool and pulled out by a lifeguard.
July 9, 2026 - Five people were injured when a passenger gondola on the Ferris Wheel detached and fell to the ground.
July 5, 2026 - Four people were injured when they were struck by a falling tree near the park entrance.
June 30, 2026 - A 9-year-old child drowned at the western Wisconsin inflatable water park.
June 28, 2026 - Ten people were injured when lightning struck a tree near the park entrance.
June 21, 2026 - A 13-year-old boy prematurely exited the log flume vehicle and fell down the ride's final drop