Roller coasters are supposed to be a fun way for a quick thrill. But there have been so many horror stories of things that could go wrong on them. From the ride stalling while people are stuck at the top, being caught in upside down positions, and a host of other scary safety-related risks. And despite all of that, people still enjoy them enough to continually get on them.
But one mom is going viral after she pointed out a safety issue with a roller coaster ride at SeaWorld in San Diego. While the ordeal was scary enough, it's the way the theme park's employees handled her concerns that is surprising.
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It's a situation that would have scared anyone.
Salina Higgins, a mom from Tucson, Arizona, took her 10-year-old daughter and 14-year-old niece to SeaWorld San Diego. Higgins and her daughter decided to ride the Electric Eel, while her niece skipped the ride, opting instead to take video of her aunt and cousin while they rode. While on the ride, things got scary for Higgins and her daughter.
"The ride is about 47 seconds long," Higgins told NBC San Diego. "Forty-seven seconds felt like about 20 minutes."
At the peak of the ride, things took a concerning turn.
"I happened to open my eyes, and my daughter started screaming because her strap was dangling in front of her face as we hung upside down," Higgins explained. "I then grabbed the strap, secured it and held onto it for dear life as we both were screaming until the ride was over."
Higgins took all necessary precautions.
"This latch was latched before we left. I checked it," she shared, also saying that there was a lap bar on the seat, but she didn't know if there was a malfunction with that, too. "The employee also walked by and pulled on it to check it, so what's to say that this latch didn't now stay in place? What's to say the bar also doesn't stay in place?"
She said that when they got off the ride, she mentioned the strap coming loose to an employee, who apologized before loading more people into the seats.
That's when things escalated.
When the employee was no help, Higgins went to guest services to escalate the situation. She spoke to a manager, who seemed dismissive of her concerns.
"He asked me, 'Did you read the disclaimer before getting on the ride?'" she recalled. "Shockingly, I said, 'Does this disclaimer explain that the comfort straps are optional? Because if it does, then please, I have no case here.' And then he laughed and said, 'I don't think so.' So then I sent my 10- and 14-year-old children to run at 10 o'clock at night to go take a picture of this disclaimer."
The ride's disclaimer reads, "Hold on tight and remain seated with the comfort collar secured at all times during the ride."
Higgins claims that when she showed it to the manager, he "threw his hands in the air and said I could call the number found on the website and had security escort us off the property."
Higgins took her complaints to social media.
She detailed the situation in a series of videos on TikTok, and people chimed in with similar experiences on the same ride.
"This happened to me about 5 years ago. Most terrifying thing I've ever experienced," one comment reads. "I was told that the shoulder straps didn't really do anything as far as safety goes. Then why are they there then?"
Higgins told the news outlet that she has reached out to over 100 SeaWorld and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) contacts to escalate the situation. After hearing others' concerns she said, "this has become something bigger."
SeaWorld has yet to respond, but according to both Higgins and NBC San Diego, OSHA is investigating.
